New paper in @bou.org.uk's Ibis: there is still no comprehensive database of bird type specimens. Many major collections have no published type catalogue at all. Where they exist, they're often print-only, partial, or decades out of date. 🧵

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! How does recombination shape genomic differentiation in birds? avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2024/08/21/h... #ornithology

How does recombination shape genomic differentiation in birds?

Comparing the genomes of different species pairs provides important insights.

avianhybrids.wordpress.com

Reticulated adaptive radiation and phylogenomic diversityloss in the Hawaiian honeycreepers #ornithology www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10....

A phylogeny of the Hawaiian honeycreepers reveals how 60 species radiated out from a single rosefinch-like ancestor over a 1-million-year period between 2.5 million and 3.5 million years ago. Just 17 taxa remain—and most are endangered. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/3nfH50ZxWv7

🧬 A songbird's genome, finally complete Researchers built a fully gapless genome for the zebra finch, adding 90 million base pairs that earlier maps missed, including 2,710 genes nobody had assembled before. 🔗 www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... #Genomics #Birds #Evolution #Science 🧪

The complete genome of a songbird

A phased diploid telomere-to-telomere reference genome for the zebra finch fully resolves its complete somatic chromosome set, recovering 2,710 previously missing or unannotated genes. The assembly al...

cell.com

This came out in the middle of the move to Cleveland, but my work on the under-appreciated starling genus Aplonis is out in MPE. These understated island-loving starlings hide plenty of biogeographic intrigue and taxonomic complexity: doi.org/10.1016/j.ym... 🧵

First complete songbird genome exposes missing genes & chromosome architecture. We have the entire genome, and scientists can now use it to interrogate biology." phys.org/news/2026-08... via @sciencex.bsky.social #genomics #biology #science #SciChat

First complete songbird genome exposes missing genes and chromosome architecture

The zebra finch is one of the best-studied songbirds and a model for understanding the biology and neuroscience of vocal learning. Now, researchers have produced the first complete genome assembly of ...

phys.org

Editor's choice & Ignite 👍🔥: Environmental temperature shapes heart size evolution in birds vist.ly/5dy34 #BodySize #FlightMode #HeartSize #Hesse #Srule

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

Research by @evolsara.bsky.social and @evoneuro.bsky.social has revealed the Dodo was the Kākāpō of pigeons - large, flightless and nocturnal! Sara has peeked into the lives of these birds in her latest paper: doi.org/10.1093/zool... Dodo artwork: Adel Lee @sykonebabblin, Kākāpō Photo: Don Merton

Nocturnal and not that silly? New paper headed by @evolsara.bsky.social with @evoneuro.bsky.social , @aub-birdy.bsky.social and many others about the dodo's sensory world! See links to Sara's YouTube video and our The Conversation article below 👇. doi.org/10.1093/zool...

A pair of crowned eagles in South Africa successfully incubated the eggs of an Egyptian goose. They hatched, then this happened... Read more from BBC's Discover Wildlife: bio-one.co/4wuVHQ8 Read the study from The Journal of Raptor Research: bio-one.co/4wlW1AU #Ornithology #Bird #Raptor #Eagle

Forest eagle finds goose eggs in nest. What happens next is staggering | Discover Wildlife

A pair of crowned eagles in South Africa successfully incubated the eggs of an Egyptian goose. They hatched, then this happened...

bio-one.co

ICYMI: New online! Status, threats and conservation of Earth’s migratory birds

Status, threats and conservation of Earth’s migratory birds

Nature Reviews Biodiversity, Published online: 23 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s44358-026-00177-7Migratory bird species are globally ubiquitous but rely on diverse habitats and locations across their annual cycles, requiring unique conservation solutions relative to non-migratory birds. This Review discusses population trends of migratory birds, dominant threats in different regions and existing conservation initiatives, then recommends integrative conservation approaches for the future.

dlvr.it

A Review in Nature Reviews Biodiversity discusses population trends of migratory birds, dominant threats in different regions and existing conservation initiatives. It also recommends integrative conservation approaches for the future. go.nature.com/4z0KWae 🌎🧪

I had the pleasure to write a commentary in Science about the very comprehensive paper by @quentinbacquele.bsky.social et al. (same issue), on the factors influencing birdsong across the world. Link to my commentary: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/..., originally paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Birdsong diversity across the world

Birdsong motifs are shaped by evolutionary history, biological traits, and environmental constraints

science.org

1/ The world's songbirds sing in just 8 basic sounds. And where a bird lives decides which ones it uses. My first PhD paper is out now in @science.org (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aee6239) Here is what we found:

Happy to share this 'capstone' project from my time as a postdoc @umich.edu, where we show that hierarchically nested bursts of body-shape evolution may underlie much of perching-bird diversification over ~50 million years. Free access link here: rdcu.be/fuxB1

Rates of passerine body plan evolution in time and space

Nature Ecology & Evolution - A reconstruction of the evolutionary history of passerine body plans over the past ~50 Myr shows rare bursts of phenotypic innovation near the origin of major...

rdcu.be

Songbirds such as finches perform a surprisingly skilled task when feeding: they remove the hard husk of seeds using precise movements of the beak and tongue. This #ProcB study examines whether this behaviour is associated with changes in the brain. doi.org/10.1098/rspb... | #Evolution #Neuroscience

Hemiplasy helps explain high rates of apparent morphological convergence in neoavian birds: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...

Hemiplasy helps explain high rates of apparent morphological convergence in neoavian birds

Somogyi et al. show that incomplete lineage sorting of morphology helps explain apparent extensive convergent evolution in Neoaves. The clade’s rapid early diversification increased the hemiplasy risk...

cell.com

Happy to share this amazing work! We found lactase!? activity in birds, re-gaining of sweet-taste among other adaptations to frugivory in Manakins. This helped these birds evolve complicated and energetic mating behaviors! www.cell.com/current-biol...

Genomic and physiological changes in a sexually selected and frugivorous bird radiation

Balakrishnan et al. take an integrative approach to explore the evolution of manakins, a frugivorous bird lineage with elaborate courtship displays. They detect genome-wide signatures related to sexua...

cell.com

A new paper I'm on is out today! Led by Stanley Somogyi, we suggest that ancestrally variable characters stabilized independently in different bird lineages, causing distantly related groups to retain similar traits and creating headaches for bird systematists. www.cell.com/current-biol... 🪶🧪

Advance articles from the WJO: Large-billed crows (Corvus macrorhynchos) anting with the yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes). #ornithology doi.org/10.1080/1559...