 Singing also occurs outside the breeding season , taking place throughout the year apart from the moulting period . The songsters are more commonly male although females also sing on occasion . The function of such out @-@ of @-@ season song is poorly understood . Eleven other types of call have been described including a flock call , threat call , attack call , snarl call and copulation call . The alarm call is a harsh scream , and while foraging together common starlings squabble incessantly . They chatter while roosting and bathing , making a great deal of noise that can cause irritation to people living nearby . When a flock of common starlings is flying together , the synchronised movements of the birds ' wings make a distinctive whooshing sound that can be heard hundreds of metres ( yards ) away . 
