--- title: Birds Will Choose Love Over Food, Study Shows description: Birds are willing to starve themselves to spend more time with their life partners, according to a new study canonical: https://time.com/4111891/birds-choose-love-over-food-study/ author: Victor Luckerson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-13T18:25:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:10.465Z article:section: Science og:title: These Birds Choose Love Over Food og:description: Even when they're hungry og:url: https://time.com/4111891/birds-choose-love-over-food-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f2d0de5b1c546a5/698870f48e0601ebcd4634e4/gettyimages-175258107.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Great Tit (Parus major). Andujar, Jaen province, Andalusia, Spain og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Birds Choose Love Over Food twitter:description: Even when they're hungry twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8f2d0de5b1c546a5/698870f48e0601ebcd4634e4/gettyimages-175258107.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # These Birds Choose Love Over Food > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. 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Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=d4b04337-69f8-4532-b1db-3add3edcda82&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/subscribe?i=d4b04337-69f8-4532-b1db-3add3edcda82&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's climate and energy newsletter? Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Question Everything: Is Love At First Sight Possible? [Watch (HLS stream): Question Everything: Is Love At First Sight Possible?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/B3W3oSRW.m3u8) (1:03)  _Published 2015-09-18. TIME hit the streets to ask New Yorkers several offbeat questions designed to provoke and prod the brain._ by [Victor Luckerson](https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Nov 13, 2015 6:25 PM UTC  Great Tit (Parus major) Great Tit (Parus major) MyLoupe—UIG via Getty Images by [Victor Luckerson](https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Nov 13, 2015 6:25 PM UTC Birds are willing to starve themselves to spend more time with their life partners, according to a [new study](http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2015-11-13-wild-birds-choose-love-over-food). Scientists at the University of Oxford discovered that some birds are willing to forego food to stay near their partners during the winter months. The researchers used automated feeding stations to track the eating habits of great tits, a bird species. For each couple, one bird would only able to access certain stations, while its partner was only able to access others. However, researchers found that one bird would end up spending much of its time at its partner’s station even though it was locked out from accessing food there. ‘The choice to stay close to their partner over accessing food demonstrates how an individual bird’s decisions in the short term, which might appear sub-optimal, can actually be shaped around gaining the long-term benefits of maintaining their key relationships,” said research lead Josh Frith. These ride-or-die birds also were willing to spend extra time with their partners’ flock-mates, the study found. The results of the study were published in _Current Biology_. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Is love at first sight possible? I'd guess it depends if you're talking about food or a person, maybe? [ LAUGH ] Is love at first sight possible? I'm a Pisces. I love, love, so I believe that it's very possible, yes. Yes, I believe that love at first sight is possible. I haven't experienced it yet Well, I'm hopeful. Is love at first sight possible? Yes, definitely it is. Absolutely not. Soul mates aren't real either. Love does not happen at first sight. You definitely need to get to know them. Anyone who thinks that is stupid. Lust at first sight, and chemical attraction at first sight is possible. But love at first sight, I don't think so. I don't think so. Maybe. Yes. They you smile at each other and you know, then you're like, then you know. You know? I would have said, no. But then I saw Michael Fassbender in the new Macbeth trailer and now I'm totally into it. I do believe love at first sight. But I also believe in heartbreak and second sight. 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