The latest pied babbler paper, headed by the amazing Shannon Conradie, looks at how the accuracy of biophysical models, increasingly used to predict climate change response, can be improved with even a modest amount of behavioural observations besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Targeted behavioural and microclimate data collection substantially improves biophysical model predictions of energy expenditure in wild birds

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Thanks @cedricboeckx.bsky.social ! @stephaniellaura.bsky.social did an amazing job with a complex dataset!

Cedric Boeckx@cedricboeckx.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Beautiful work by @stephaniellaura.bsky.social @stephanielking.bsky.social @mandyridley.bsky.social providing “evidence of multi-level non-adjacent organisation & learned syntactic structure in a semantic non-human system” — a very rich syntax in a communication system outside human language 🧪

Congrats to Ed for completing the final part of his excellent PhD: his exit seminar! Well done Ed for all your hard work and achievements over the last four years of research! 🥳🎉🎓

Centre for Evolutionary Biology at UWA@ceb-uwa.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Congratulations 🎓 to Ed Galluccio for delivering a fantastic overview of his PhD project covering how ontogenetic and environmental impact shapes cognition in wild magpies 🥂 @mandyridley.bsky.social @dutourmylene.bsky.social

Congrats to @gblackburn.bsky.social for this study showing that’s it’s not just anthropogenic noise, but the level (amplitude) of anthropogenic noise that is important, in terms of impact on behaviour.

Grace Blackburn@gblackburn.bsky.social · 2mo ago

New paper out now looking at how different amplitudes of anthropogenic noise affect the behaviour of urban living magpies! This work highlights the importance of considering how variation in noise may differentially impact wildlife. @mandyridley.bsky.social doi.org/10.1080/0952...

Congrats to Ed Galluccio on the first paper from his PhD, showing that associative learning score is related to the antipredator response and associative learning score declines under heat stress. However, heat stress does not impact the cognition-antipredator relationship.

Mylène Dutour@dutourmylene.bsky.social · 3mo ago

New paper alert! Heat stress impacts the relationship between cognition and anti-predator behaviour in wild magpies. Congrats to Ed Galluccio! With collaborators Ben Ashton, Alex Thornton, and @mandyridley.bsky.social ‬ academic.oup.com/beheco/advan...

Congrats to @alexalaman.bsky.social for leading this paper using 38 years of data to investigate climate impacts on survival & reprod success of Arabian babblers in natural vs modified habitat. We found modified habitats buffered climate impacts: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Coping with change: Interactive effects of anthropogenic change influence the breeding success and survival of a desert‐dwelling cooperative breeder

Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Hot birds, tricky math! Our new paper shows that high temperatures impair quantity discrimination in wild great tits. @gblackburn.bsky.social, @camillasoravia.bsky.social, and @mandyridley.bsky.social academic.oup.com/beheco/advan...

High temperatures inhibit quantity discrimination of conspecifics in a wild bird

Many species benefit from the ability to discern the number of individuals calling in an anti-predator mobbing event, as more individuals likely reduces th

academic.oup.com

🚨New paper alert 🚨 High temperatures lead to an impaired anti-predator mobbing response to five callers in wild great tits! Loved working on this paper with an all star team of scientists! @dutourmylene.bsky.social @camillasoravia.bsky.social @mandyridley.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/behe...

High temperatures inhibit quantity discrimination of conspecifics in a wild bird

Many species benefit from the ability to discern the number of individuals calling in an anti-predator mobbing event, as more individuals likely reduces th

doi.org

Congrats to @stephaniellaura.bsky.social, who headed our latest research showing that social interactions have a major influence on the development of the complex call sequences that young magpies learn! As well as the below paper link, here is the media release: www.uwa.edu.au/news/article...

Young magpies learn complex sentences just like humans

Young magpies learn how to create complex calls in much the same way human children learn to turn sounds into words and words into sentences.

uwa.edu.au

Stephanie L Mason@stephaniellaura.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Young magpies learn to combine calls into "sentences" much like human toddlers: through listening to family and friends! Now available to read at @royalsocietypublishing.org @mandyridley.bsky.social @stephanielking.bsky.social @ceb-uwa.bsky.social royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...

Our review of the impact of multiple anthropogenic stressors on avian behaviour and cognition was the most downloaded paper in the Journal of Avian Biology 2025! @camillasoravia.bsky.social @gblackburn.bsky.social

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology.bsky.social · 6mo ago

🚨 Top-downloaded 2024/25: review about the potential additive, synergistic, or antagonistic effects of rising temperatures and anthropogenic noise on avian behaviour and cognition. ➡️ vist.ly/4rxsx #ornithology #birds #cognition #noise #rising_temperatures

So happy to see this come to print after life took over & there was a delay btw data collection and writing up! We conduct an experimental test of central place foraging theory & ask how provisioning/distance trade-offs might differ in a cooperative breeder. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

An Experimental Test of Central Place Foraging Theory in a Cooperatively Breeding Bird

This study experimentally investigated central place foraging theory in a cooperatively breeding bird, the Southern Pied Babbler. We found that while birds were more likely to provision when given fo...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

An important ontogenetic perspective into the relationship between cognition and social interactions! Congrats @lizziespeechley.bsky.social! With collaborators @stephanielking.bsky.social @ceb-uwa.bsky.social Ben Ashton, Alex Thornton and Leigh Simmons

British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU)@bou.org.uk · 9mo ago

Social Interactions Are Related to Cognitive Development in Western Australian Magpie Fledglings | doi.org/10.1002/ece3... | Ecology and Evolution | #ornithology 🪶

New paper alert! By tracking fledglings through development we found evidence that cognitive development is related to social interactions: this extends our research on adult magpie cognition. See below for an overview of all papers from @lizziespeechley.bsky.social’s excellent research thesis 👇🏻👇🏻

Dr Lizzie Speechley@lizziespeechley.bsky.social · 9mo ago

The final chapter of my thesis has just been published in Ecology and Evolution! @ecol-evol.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... Here we find that the social environment, notably vocal and aggressive interactions, are linked to cognitive development in magpie fledglings.

New amazing open Postdoc position, w/t opportunities to 1) get closely involved in our next @themanybirds.bsky.social study on innovation and problem-solving; 2) work with @ecobird.bsky.social on avian innovation, cognition & invasiveness. Advert: www.ugent.be/en/work/scie...

Postdoctoral fellow

ugent.be

Centre for Research on Ecology, Cognition and Behaviour of Birds@ecobird.bsky.social · 9mo ago

🐦 EcoBird is hiring a Postdoc in animal cognition! Join us + @themanybirds.bsky.social to investigate innovation & problem-solving in birds. 📅 Start: as early as Jan 2026 🌍 Funded through UGent’s international mobility scheme More info & how to apply ↓ www.ugent.be/en/work/scie...

New paper out in PLoS Biology! A large international collaboration from the ManyBirds project, looking at variation in neophobia across a wide range of avian species globally. Delighted that the magpies were part of this large and diverse dataset!

ManyBirds Project@themanybirds.bsky.social · 10mo ago

🐦 Exciting news! Our new paper is out in PLOS Biology: “A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia.” Led by the #ManyBirds Project - 129 researchers, 82 institutions, 24 countries 🌍 🔗 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/... @themanybirds.bsky.social

Our new paper is out! @camillasoravia.bsky.social leads this research, which looks into the relationship between heat- mediated cognitive impairment and the antipredator response in wild pied babblers. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Investigating the relationship between heat-mediated cognitive impairment and antipredator response in a wild bird | Royal Society Open Science

Increasingly frequent heatwaves require animals to spend more time thermoregulating at the expense of other fitness-related behaviours. Emerging evidence also indicates that high temperatures can impa...

royalsocietypublishing.org

Congrats to @avantikadeep.bsky.social on presenting her research plans for studying the causes and consequences of intrasexual selection in magpies at #AES2025!

Renée Claire Firman@pebblemouse.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Avantika Sharma showcasing her plans for her PhD on intrasexual selection in magpies at #AES2025. Great work Avantika! @mandyridley.bsky.social @ceb-uwa.bsky.social

Avantika Sharma showcasing her plans for her PhD on intrasexual selection in magpies at #AES2025. Great work Avantika! @mandyridley.bsky.social @ceb-uwa.bsky.social

#AES2025 started with a blast with @brainiants.bsky.social talking about the effect of inbreeding on survivorship and fecundity in European royal families! Keep them coming @pebblemouse.bsky.social

Renée Claire Firman@pebblemouse.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Great talk by Kim Wong at #AES2025 … this talk never gets old! @brainiants.bsky.social @ceb-uwa.bsky.social

Congrats to Kim @brainiants.bsky.social on her talk at #AES2025! Kim’s research into inbreeding in European royals looked at the effect on reproductive success, offspring survival and fertility. Manuscript to be submitted soon: watch this space!

Renée Claire Firman@pebblemouse.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Great talk by Kim Wong at #AES2025 … this talk never gets old! @brainiants.bsky.social @ceb-uwa.bsky.social

@dutourmylene.bsky.social ‘s talk was wonderful, so great to see her back in Perth again!

Centre for Evolutionary Biology at UWA@ceb-uwa.bsky.social · 11mo ago

At CEB seminar today, @dutourmylene.bsky.social walked us through 10 years of her research at the crossroads of animal cognition, behavioural ecology, bioacoustics — exploring how animals code & decode information, use syntax & vocal mimicry, & engage in intra- & interspecific communication 🐦🦅🐓🐍🚶‍♀️

Congrats to @avantikadeep.bsky.social for presenting her PhD research plans on intrasexual competition in group-living magpies!

Centre for Evolutionary Biology at UWA@ceb-uwa.bsky.social · 11mo ago

🪶 Intrasexual Competition in Magpies @avantikadeep.bsky.social studies female–female competition in cooperative breeders, investigating socio-ecological drivers and the implications of intrasexual competition for group dynamics.🐦🦅🗣️ 4/11 @mandyridley.bsky.social @lizziespeechley.bsky.social

Congrats to Lakshani for presenting her research plan on coalitions in toque macaques for her PhD!

Centre for Evolutionary Biology at UWA@ceb-uwa.bsky.social · 11mo ago

🐒 Male Coalition Strategies in Toque Macaques Lakshani Weerasekara examines cooperation and conflict in macaques, focusing on how males form coalitions and what factors influence coalition success 🐵👬🥊 8/11 @mandyridley.bsky.social @cyrilgrueter.bsky.social

Congrats to @stephaniellaura.bsky.social for winning an award for her excellent poster on her PhD research!

Centre for Evolutionary Biology at UWA@ceb-uwa.bsky.social · 11mo ago

🪶 How Magpies Learn Syntax 🏆 @stephaniellaura.bsky.social investigates the ontogeny of magpie vocalisations, showcasing how call sequences are socially learned, structured, and passed down across generations 🧠🐦🐣🔊 10/11 @mandyridley.bsky.social

Super proud of PhD student @stephaniellaura.bsky.social at her exit seminar: she took us through a comprehensive journey of investigation and unveiled some truly fascinating results, only achievable through her exceptional hard work and attention to detail. Congrats Steph!

Stephanie L Mason@stephaniellaura.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Slowly but surely pulling everything together for publishing with my coauthors @mandyridley.bsky.social @stephanielking.bsky.social and Dr Sarah Walsh so you can actually read some of this stuff! Stay tuned 📰🐥

Congrats @stephaniellaura.bsky.social for doing amazing PhD research on the ontogeny of magpie communication!

Stephanie L Mason@stephaniellaura.bsky.social · 11mo ago

It's official! PhD submitted. Thanks to @mandyridley.bsky.social, @stephanielking.bsky.social and Dr Sarah Walsh for everything, particularly over the last few months as I bombarded you with manuscript drafts. Excited to share this research with the world soon! Stay posted, but for now, sleep.

Our new cognition paper is out, headed by @gblackburn.bsky.social, and one of the last chapters from her exceptional PhD thesis!

Grace Blackburn@gblackburn.bsky.social · 12mo ago

New paper alert 🚨 We test quantity discrimination in #magpies using both a cognitive task and playback experiment and find that birds can discriminate between quantities in both! Interestingly, performance in the two task was negatively correlated! 🐦 @mandyridley.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/behe...

EARLY VIEW in IBIS Western Australian Magpies alter the rate, but not the amplitude, of their territorial song in anthropogenic noise | onlinelibrary.wiley.... Grace Blackburn, Mylene Dutour, Benjamin J. Ashton, Alex Thornton, Amanda R. Ridley | #ornithology 🪶

Our new paper, led by @gblackburn.bsky.social, finds a very sharp decline in the rate of carol calls (the main territorial call) given by magpies during anthropogenic noise, but no change in the amplitude. @dutourmylene.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Western Australian Magpies alter the rate, but not the amplitude, of their territorial song in anthropogenic noise

Anthropogenic noise is considered one of the most serious forms of pollution globally and has been shown to have negative effects on the distribution, behaviour, cognition and reproductive success of...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Our new paper, led by Masters student Holly, finds that magpies are capable of quantity discrimination, and this ability is affected by group size.

Grace Blackburn@gblackburn.bsky.social · last yr.

Our new #cognition paper, led by Masters student Holly Hunter, has just been published in Animal Cognition! doi.org/10.1007/s100... @ceb-uwa.bsky.social @mandyridley.bsky.social