🐾 Oro-manual assessment of food preservability in a wild rodent 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.23.752726v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 Wild agoutis assess the preservability of natural food items using oro-manual sensory exploration t... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 Temporal dynamics of grooming reciprocity in crested macaques: do social bonds affect exchange? 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.21.753130v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 This study investigates the temporal dynamics of grooming recipro... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 Modelling pairwise and coalitional contests with reinforcement learning 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.23.753778v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 This study models animal contests using reinforcement learning to explore how individuals... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 A comparison of female competitive traits: Female aggression peaks at nest building but female song spans multiple c... 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.25.754226v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 Study comparing how female songbirds use aggres... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 Brinkmanship and the sensory-motor limits of pursuit predation 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.25.754358v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 This study investigates how reef fish prey exploit the sensory-motor delays of their predators to ... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 Unexpected post-release behaviours of reintroduced kakapo 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.24.753978v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 Study analyzing the post-release spatial behavior and habitat selection of reintroduced Kakapo birds in... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 Schrodinger's mouse: human observation erases a drug-induced behavioral phenotype 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.25.754328v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 Study examining how human observation perturbs drug-induced behavioral phenotyp... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 Bottlenose whales are more socially connected when in poor body condition 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.25.754507v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 Study examining the relationship between body condition and social connectivity in nort... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 Validation of behavioural tests for personality assessment in tie-stall dairy cows 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.25.754475v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 This study evaluates the consistency and validity of five behavioral tests use... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 Sociality shapes context-dependent stress responses to anthropogenic disturbance in African elephants 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.30.755628v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 Study examining how social relationships and rank modulate ... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 Spontaneous behavior predicts colony membership, individual identity, and rank in naked mole-rat societies 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.27.754730v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 Study demonstrating that fine-scale spontaneous behavi... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 Socio-cognitive models in a patch foraging setting: a case study for model selection and parameter identifiability m... 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.28.755106v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 Study investigating how animal groups use socia... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 Developing an accessible judgement bias task for non-human primates 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.28.754938v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 Study testing the feasibility of Judgment Bias Tasks to infer affective states and decision-m... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 Light-independent and pulsing-sensitive magnetic compass responses in planarians 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.27.754318v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 This study investigates the perception and navigation capabilities of planarians... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 Context and Identity Cues Mediate Individual Recognition in a Highly Social Cichlid Fish 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.27.754830v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 Study demonstrating that African cichlid fish integrate identity cues an... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 Search party flock formations in migrating birds 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.28.755100v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 The article reports on field observations and radar measurements of migrating terns forming unique 'search party... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 Categorical rhythmic patterns do not predict song preference in zebra finches 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.05.756641v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 Study investigating whether zebra finches exhibit categorical rhythmic preferences ... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

🐾 "Mine" or "yours"? Acoustic structure of food calls predicts sharing decisions in marmosets 📎 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.05.756650v1?rss=1 🇬🇧 Study investigating the link between acoustic structure of food calls... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

1/5 Harassing sharks comes at a cost In this review, the authors argue that the common idea that sharks attack humans because they mistake us for other animals is a myth. Instead, most bites appear to be self-defense. (paper) www.frontiersin.org/journals/con...

Blinking as an Indicator of Cognitive Flexibility We already knew that blinking acts as a 'pause between thoughts', in both humans and other species. Here, they found a correlation between blinking and executive function performance in children aged 2 to 6. (paper) www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Why care about weird animal behaviors? Just out as an advanced publication, my contribution to the next Frans de Waal special issue in Behaviour @degruyterbrill.bsky.social. Unusual behaviors are a recurring theme in my career, and I much enjoyed writing this perspective! doi.org/10.1163/1568...

The science of the unusual: how rare observations reveal the diversity of animal behaviour

Abstract Behavioural biology often focuses on identifying general patterns, yet unusual or rare behaviours at both the population and individual level can provide insight into animal behaviour. Here, ...

doi.org

1/2 Sleeping spiders Here, they used a sound stimulus that simulated an approaching threat (predatory wasp). Immobile spiders, especially at night, either did not respond or took much longer to do so (paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... by @roesslerdaniela.bsky.social Photo: B and C sleep

Unexpected post-release behaviours of reintroduced kakapo https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.24.753978v1

2026. They’ve roamed Britain for thousands of years, now wild goats face an intense fight for survival. Regarded as both wildlife icons and a damaging invasive animal, wild goats are regularly culled across the UK. www.countryfile.com/wildlife/the...

They’ve roamed Britain for thousands of years, now wild goats face an intense fight for survival | Countryfile.com

Regarded as both wildlife icons and a damaging invasive animal, wild goats are regularly culled across the UK.

countryfile.com

Science for Animal Welfare. Humane Management of Rats, Mice and Moles – Detailed Advice. Available at: scienceforanimalwelfare.org/understand-a... via @animal-welfare.bsky.social

Humane Rodent Control Detailed Advice - Science for Animal Welfare

Humane Management of Rats, Mice and Moles Detailed Advice Wild rats, mice and moles are part of the biodiversity that many of us value, but sometimes members of these species come into conflict with h...

scienceforanimalwelfare.org

New paper out! The effects of high temperatures on behaviour in juvenile great tits, with my amazing colleague @gblackburn.bsky.social and student Valentine Ouvry. Particularly timely given increasingly frequent, intense heatwaves. brill.com/view/journal... #AnimalBehaviour #Heatwaves #ParusMajor

The effects of high temperatures on behaviour in juvenile great tits (Parus major)

Abstract Rising temperatures can pose significant thermoregulatory challenges for endotherms. Understanding how animals respond to high temperatures is essential for predicting the impacts of global w...

brill.com

Vocal identity and information content in the flight initiation calls of greylag geese (Anser anser) - www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... by @ebriefer.bsky.social

Vocal identity and information content in the flight initiation calls of greylag geese ( Anser anser )

Download Citation | On Sep 28, 2026, Dina A. A. Mostafa and others published Vocal identity and information content in the flight initiation calls of greylag geese ( Anser anser ) | Find, read and cit...

researchgate.net

🐾 Mate choice copying in non-human animals: An update of two meta-analyses 📎 https://doi.org/10.1242/bio.062878 🇬🇧 This paper reviews social learning in non-human animals by updating meta-analyses on mate choice copying across 33 specie... #AnimalCognition #Ethology #AnimalBehavior

New paper on sheep vocal expression of emotions & sociability with A. Villain. Using a genetic line selected for reaction to social separation, we found that vocal expression of sociability prevails over emotions. Thanks to A. Boissy for the collaboration and @carlsbergfondet.dk for funding!

Vocal encoding of heritable sociability prevails over emotions in sheep bleats

Abstract. Vocalizations of animals are good indicators of their emotions. Temperament is known to influence the regulation and expression of emotions. Howe

royalsocietypublishing.org

1/9 Ethnozoology of medicinal plants used by elephants on Mount Elgon (Kenya) The researchers interviewed 8 local experts on elephant behavior, all with more than 20 years of experience, and what they learned is astonishing. (paper) www.nature.com/articles/s41...