Here’s a great overview of our Dodo paper in @theconversation.com, authored by @weisbeckerbblab.bsky.social @evolsara.bsky.social and myself #ornithology #birds theconversation.com/dodos-probab...

Dodos probably weren’t as stupid as historians made them out to be: new research

Dodo skull scans show the famously extinct birds were no less brainy than their surviving relatives – and may have roamed at dusk and dawn.

theconversation.com

Morning all.

Easter Spinebill perched on a Callistemon (bottlebrush). #BirdOfTheDay #shorebirds #WildOz

An outstanding river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) currently* growing in the east parklands of Adelaide, South Australia. It is 6.60 metres in trunk girth at chest height, 27 m tall, and having an average canopy spread of 27.5 m. I'd estimate it to be between 150 and 300 years old.

new paper (my first w/ a Tok Pisin abstract)! our 2024 camera trap record of the rare New Britain Thrush prompted a review of all known observations of the species since its description—a mere 15 total. led by MS student Jason Gregg for the brand-new Journal of Lost Species: doi.org/10.66264/3c8...

"For the first time since red imported fire ants were discovered in Australia 25 years ago, we have genuine reason for optimism” writes Reece Pianta, Advocacy Director at the Invasive Species Council. Read the full piece on The Point: thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...

What can #islands teach us about #biodiversity? 🌋🏝️ In our latest #EcolClips, we talk with @rjwhittaker.bsky.social about how ecosystems assemble after major disturbances, using Krakatau as an example - and what islands can teach us about the future of biodiversity. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM_H...

What Islands can teach us about Nature with Prof. Robert Whittaker | EcolClips

YouTube video by EcolClips

youtube.com

I love that the size of a ground hornbill nestbox is essentially a small shed. #ornithology

FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology@africanornithology.bsky.social · 2w ago

Artificial nesting sites (nestboxes) can boost breeding opportunities for the Southern Ground-Hornbill. In South Africa, nestboxes increased the number of breeding groups, revealing their value as a conservation tool where natural nest sites are scarce. doi.org/10.1017/S095... #AfricanOrnithology

🌍 From nest-scale microclimates to colony-wide patterns, the Hot Birds Research Project at the FitzPatrick Institute is investigating how warming temperatures affect breeding by albatrosses and giant petrels on Marion Island. #AfricanOrnithology

FOUND! 🔍 Red Weaver rediscovered in Kenya! The striking Red Weaver has been documented for the first time since 2014. Supported by an Ornis Birding Expeditions x Lost Birds Expedition Grant. More: abcbirds.info/3RTJhSS @rewildorg.bsky.social @birdlifeglobal.bsky.social

New species of antthrush, the Baturité antthrush (Chamaeza baturitensis, right): www.scielo.br/j/zool/a/qbw... 🪶🧪 (📷Eduardo P. Brettas)

Diversification of Hawaiian honeycreepers: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Among other findings, the ʻiʻiwi does not clade with the extinct mamo (genus Drepanis) and should be restored to its own genus Vestiaria. 🪶🧪 (📷Campana et al.)

🆕 #seabirds paper led by Alyssa Piauwasdy Leg-mounted GLS had no detectable effect on chick growth, fledging, or adult return rates in Wedge-tailed Shearwaters on Oʻahu. Year did. Chicks grew slower in El Niño — tagged or not. 🔗 doi.org/10.5751/JFO-... #geolocators #biologging #Hawaii

Journal of Field Ornithology: Geolocator devices did not affect chick growth or adult return rates in Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (<em>Ardenna pacifica</em>) despite interannual variation in chick develo...

Although biologging has transformed seabird ecology, bird-borne devices could alter the behaviors being studied, including parental care. We tested for effects of leg-mounted light-level geolocators (...

doi.org

Good morning good people.

Huge property for sale in Tasmania in core swift parrot breeding habitat if there’s any philanthropists out there seeking to protect some birds and bush! Lake Leake is an important site for parrots but the broader landscape is being savagely logged www.realestate.com.au/property-lif...

We’re bridging the digital divide for #biodiversity monitoring! By pairing @openecoacoustics.bsky.social with targeted skills training, we’re helping researchers process massive #ecoacoustic datasets with ease. See how we're making an impact: ardc.edu.au/case-study/a... #QUT #JCU #BirdNET

ARDC Skills and Infrastructure Accelerate Ecoacoustics Research

ARDC and Open Ecoacoustics are bridging the digital divide, helping researchers process large datasets for biodiversity monitoring.

ardc.edu.au

Good morning.

For teachers We love & remember those that encouraged us Thank you This portrait is exhibited as part of the Young Archies at NSW Art Gallery The young artist’s statement caught me as much as the, very accomplished, portrait

The Fruit-Loving Woodpecker - Checker-throated Woodpecker (Chrysophlegma mentale). Fruit of Sarcotheca monophyla, Trema orientalis, Macaranga bancana & Macaranga gigantea. #BirdsSeenIn2026 #Ipoh #Perak #Malaysia #birds #nature #wildlife @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social

never thought short form video would be able to capture a type of humor i can only describe as “the far side-esque” but this comes close.

Morning all.

"The Crown filed memorandums... saying it did not have the funds to continue the excavation. They noted the est'd cost would be approx $3.5m." A huge find that could transform our knowledge of Polynesian voyaging and the govt can't spare a few metres of a RoNS to properly excavate and protect it

Grumpy@grumpyyetamusin.bsky.social · 4d ago

Judge rules Crown must protect buried remains of ancient waka in Chatham Islands www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu...

Deep Sea Chandelier ⚡ A chandelier siphonophore, suspended in the deep Atlantic ocean. ~ Schmidt Ocean Institute 🦑

John Burns@burnsajohn.bsky.social · 6d ago

I'm giving a public talk next Wednesday, August 5, on approaches to studying mid-water animals in situ. It will be light on technical details, and more conceptual and a journey to the deep than a regular science talk. Please join if you are interested! #marinelife www.bigelow.org/news/cafe-sc...

All clamped up and ready to go!

!🚨New Paper alert🚨! New evidence for large mammaliforms in the Cretaceous. This time in South Brazil: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

31 cards? Check 31 stamps? Check Ready to send a postcard a day for ABC’s Evenings’ #AllinAugust - my chosen challenge to refresh & reset

I’m with the boomers on this one. Burn it all down

Arizona State launches degree on becoming an influencer — exactly the career more than half of Gen Z adults dream of

Influencers are earning about as much as nurses, on average, with top content creators raking in millions. Now, Arizona State University is offering a degree in it.

finance.yahoo.com

tuning in to spider taxonomy to discover that beloved fishing spider Dolomedes has been EVICTED from Pisauridae, effective 2025?? All eight of my monocles have just popped out in alarm www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Morning all.

Plume-toed Swiftlet (Collocalia affinis) - nests made of vegetable matter with salivary ‘cement’. Moss added to nest (image 1) more robust structures than predominantly fibre use (image 2). #BirdsSeenIn2026 #Ipoh #Perak #Malaysia @birdsoftheworld.bsky.social @tonyrinaud.bsky.social