Sarah Jane Alger, a doctoral student in zoology at UW- Madison, was at that point in her research all scientists long to reach.
She had collected her data, hundreds of songs of the European starling, and was about to begin analyzing them. She would listen for differences between the songs of breeding and non-breeding males.
It was time-consuming and tedious research that explored almost entirely new ground, according to Lauren Riter, an associate professor of zoology and Alger’s adviser. And the research is promising not only because it offers insights into bird songs and behavior but also into autism and communication in humans. Her work is being funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health.