Excited to see this analysis based on AVONET & AVOTREX bird trait data.
Do bird radiations tend to avoid regions of trait space already occupied by other lineages? This analysis suggests the answer is yes!
The "Birds The Don't Exist" actually do exist, just in related passerine clades.
Thanks. Glad you like that one!
I think latitudinal and elevational gradients in flight adaptations – mostly overlooked until recently – are pretty useful for teaching evolutionary mechanisms 👍
I laughed at those hopelessly inaccurate AI nests yesterday; but finding out today that Elon's fact-checker is assuring people they are real is ... aggravating. Artificial Stupidity indeed.
Congratulations and big respect to Ariane Dellavalle for publishing the first chapter of her thesis. 🎉 A detailed analysis of bird diversity across West African land-use gradients, raising some important questions about how we interpret biodiversity trends. 🪶🌐🧪
OK I have a list of 90 bulbuls to measure at the Hancock and an agreement that we can arrange a visit for you to measure them, so we are on!
90 might take 2 visits?
Can you look online, find my email address and send me an email at imperial.ac.uk so I can send you methods and datasheet. Thanks
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Come join us in Bristol @bristolbiosci.bsky.social!
We are looking for new collegues working across a broad spectum of topics in biology, including ecology & environmental change. Get in touch if you have Qs!
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I've been in touch with GNM and they are open to you working on the collection. I can't DM you so could you email me or let me know your email address so I can explain the task?
If you're sure that there was pale on the bill and face then presumably you're right. Pochard would of course be far more likely, but recent Canvasback records in S England mean it's worth checking carefully
Perhaps it's just a misleading photo in poor light but the head/bill shape looks more reminiscent of canvasback than pochard. Do you have other photos of same bird?
Looks like female Canvasback? Where was this?
Why is there such variation in the birds encountered as you go up or down a mountain? New paper in #ScienceAdvances examines how climate and ecological interactions drive bird distributions in mountains throughout the year:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
1/10 ⬇️
Thanks, Ralph! I have a lab member working in the bird collection at Tring right now. I don’t think they’ll be able to finish all 13500 bulbul specimens in there! But we’ll do as many as possible. (I’m based Oxford/London)
Very kind offer, Michael. I can supply all those needs to get you up and running if there are enough specimens to make it worthwile. Is there any way of finding out how many Pycnonotidae specs the Hancock has?
Coarse categorisation is definitely an issue. I think we’re a long way from refined social traits at macro scales for birds but hopefully better datasets will develop over time. 🤞
Chatbots offer a magnificent bribe - a fast, frictionless route to information that bypasses the discomfort of learning. In this op-ed, we describe this as a Faustian bargain, in which we trade away what it means to be human & universities trade away their value
www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...
🚨 For those with access to collections of bird specimens: we are looking for collaborators who can quickly measure bulbuls/greenbuls (Pycnonotidae) for a project on intraspecific trait variation. We need 100s specimens measured from common species in return for co-authorship. Anyone up for it? 🧪🌐🪶
Great stuff, Ben, and clearly reflects real patterns in that part of the world. On the other hand, if you did a ton of playbacks in Australia, S Africa, Argentina etc. I think you would see effect of latitude weaken and be outcompeted by social traits associated with stable climates/resources.
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If you thought regular bird listing was for nerds, wait til you get a load of phylolisting. @snacktavish.bsky.social
Hi Juliana, this is a great paper. Congrats!
It looks like there is a remarkable geographical mix in the lice phylogeny. Closely related lice lineages often occur on bird species living in different continents. How would you explain that pattern and doesn't it greatly increase uncertainty?
Fascinating stuff. And great to see our data on wing bone length and wing area being put to good use 👍
I think Bearded improves the name, although strictly speaking it should be Moustached!
I’d hate it if the Bearded Mountaineer was renamed to just Mountaineer. Would be a tragedy. At least that incredible hummingbird actually has a beard
Another vote for ‘reedling’. Bearded tit is a joke of a name to non-birders, and this special bird deserves a historically/taxonomically/ecologically informative name
Arguably they will never need to as Ai will write for them. Sad but true. We aren’t going to stop it. I agree that this will damage their ability to think and process information. More hand-written tests is one way, and marking down for ‘generic writing’ or ‘no personal voice’ (which is what I do)
Agree that computer-based writing is no longer viable as coursework. I’m trying to figure out ways of teaching students how to work with, critically appraise and learn from ai-generated horseshit. Apart from that, verbal, practical and hand-written exams/coursework is our only solution
A data collection mission that began in 2012 is finally released as AVONICHE.
Designed as a companion to AVONET bird trait database and updated to Avilist taxonomy, it’s an Open Access dataset providing updated diets and a detailed breakdown of foraging behaviours used by all bird species.
🪶🌐
I was wondering the same thing. I can also imagine some less interesting reasons, including a few samples with poor DNA quality, failure to amplify W-linked fragment, contamination, amplification artefacts, sample mislabelling etc. Looking forward to seeing more direct tests of this result.
A recovering patch of rainforest in Ecuadorian Chocó, picture by Eike Lena Neuschulz
Seed dispersal by 🦜🦇 underpins rainforest recovery. We want to understand more about its timing + traits driving recovery through obs, exp + genomic data. Ready to join the @reassemblynet.bsky.social team working in Ecuadorian Chocó? Pls apply to our 4-yr PhD position @sgn.one: tinyurl.com/2pkryc99
Photo montage of Tinamus resonans sp. nov., a new species of tinamou from the montane forests of the Serra do Divisor, western Amazonia, Brazil. The species is distinguished by a unique combination of plumage pattern, vocal repertoire, and ecological characteristics, including a conspicuous dark slate facial mask, vivid rufous-cinnamon underparts, and a uniform brownish-gray back. Its vocalizations are remarkable, consisting of long and powerful songs that echo strikingly across the steep montane slopes, producing a characteristic resonant effect. The species was documented exclusively at higher elevations within a transitional zone between submontane and stunted forests, where the understory is densely structured by root mats. A preliminary population estimate, based on field detections and spatial extrapolation, suggests approximately 2,106 individuals restricted to the Serra do Divisor massif. Although no immediate anthropogenic pressures were observed within its range, the species may be highly vulnerable to climate change and to proposed infrastructure projects that threaten the integrity of this federally protected region. The discovery of T. resonans highlights the biological uniqueness of the Serra do Divisor, reinforces its status as a center of montane endemism, and underscores the critical importance of maintaining its long-term conservation.
Huge News from the Western Amazon: it's the year 2025 and we are still describing entirely new, strikingly-distinctive large-bodied bird species! Behold Tinamus resonans sp. nov. the Slaty-masked Tinamou mapress.com/zt/article/v... #Ornithology @tetzoo.bsky.social 🪶
