Awesome new paper about wild/domestic interbreeding in DUCKS*, just out in @currentbiology.bsky.social 🦆🧬 #ornithology *not quite pigeons, but still very interesting 😅... doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...

Humans changed islands, not just holiday destinations, but home to 10% of humans, including us here 🇬🇧. What is the ecology of islands today, and how are island organisms adapting? Neatly summarised by @ferransayol.bsky.social, our new paper lead by Tom Matthews on the 'Anthropocene' on islands.

Ferran Sayol@ferransayol.bsky.social · 2w ago

New paper out! 🖨️ Glad to be part of this study, out in Science Advances: "Emergent patterns of island biodiversity in the Anthropocene" www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Much of what looks natural in island biodiversity is a legacy of human impacts going back millennia. See main findings 👇🧵 (1/8)

Really nice research on a familiar to system to all of us - pigeons in buildings.

British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU)@bou.org.uk · 2w ago

NEW on #theBOUblog from Will Smith The secret lives of Outer Hebridean Rock Doves: What can we learn from studying the wild counterparts of domesticated pigeons? bou.org.uk/blog-smit... Based on this paper doi.org/10.1093/orni... #ornithology 🪶

Thanks @bou.org.uk for the opportunity to write a bit about our ongoing PIGEON SCIENCE 🕊️ including work funded by @btobirds.bsky.social @scottishbirding.bsky.social @britishbirds.bsky.social 🐦

British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU)@bou.org.uk · 2w ago

NEW on #theBOUblog from Will Smith The secret lives of Outer Hebridean Rock Doves: What can we learn from studying the wild counterparts of domesticated pigeons? bou.org.uk/blog-smit... Based on this paper doi.org/10.1093/orni... #ornithology 🪶

Our new commentary rdcu.be/ftx6h in @natecoevo.nature.com written with folks from @inaturalist.bsky.social and @cornellbirds.bsky.social shows that use of AI to manipulate existing or create new wildlife images undermines the huge value of vast citizen science databases. 🌍🪰🪶 #Ornithology 🧵 1/10

Citizen science platforms must mitigate against the threat of generative AI

Nature Ecology & Evolution - Citizen science platforms must mitigate against the threat of generative AI

rdcu.be

Our new review paper is out - iOrnithology: a review of the use of web-sourced photographs and videos in ornithological research, published in Ibis @connorpanter.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

<fc>iOrnithology</fc>: a review of the use of web‐sourced photographs and videos in ornithological research

The internet hosts vast quantities of digital media across webpages, repositories and social media platforms, providing unprecedented opportunities for ecological research. The use of web-sourced med...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Nice YouTube-summary of the 2025 study on bird nests by @jezierskimt.bsky.social, @willjsmith.bsky.social and their colleagues. www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzN6... Here is the link to the original paper: royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article... #ornithology

Scientists Can't Explain Why Bird Nests Are So Different

YouTube video by SciShow

youtube.com

I'm proud to be an associate editor for this journal: please send us your fun bird science! 🤓🐣

Richard K Broughton@richardkbroughton.bsky.social · last mo.

Pleased to announce new 2025 Impact Factor for #BirdStudy = 1.3, ranking 9/29 in #Ornithology, Q2. www.tandfonline.com/journals/tbi... A @btobirds.bsky.social society journal, we welcome papers on all aspects of ornithology, esp field studies, tracking & conservation in Western Palearctic & flyways.

How nice is it when you spot other species while doing fieldwork?

New issue of #BirdStudy today! www.tandfonline.com/toc/tbis20/7... Moroccan Little Terns Scottish Water Rails (OpenAccess) Nightjars & wind-damaged forests Urban Coots & disturbance Trail cameras for Corncrakes (OpenAccess) Age effects on bird monitoring Moorland Curlews in Nth England #ornithology

A cool chicken paper 🐓. Such work benefits from having healthy comparator populations of domesticated species' wild forms (in this case, Red Junglefowl). We wrote about this: doi.org/10.1093/orni.... It's part of why @jezierskimt.bsky.social and I visit Uist regularly, to study the wild pigeons.

Science X / Phys.org@sciencex.bsky.social · 2mo ago

A single pigmentation gene helps explain why domestic chickens come in so many colors. In chickens, 18 variants were identified, with mutations that can shift pigment production in different directions. doi.org/hb7j94

Why pigeons deserve more respect.

The pigeon fanciers of the Bronze Age

Why pigeons deserve more respect.

tcnv.link

New paper in @journal-evo.bsky.social and I'll be defending my thesis in a few hours! Relaxed selection diminishes social memory and expression of host defenses against cuckoos academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...

Relaxed selection diminishes social memory and expression of host defenses against cuckoos

Behavioral traits are thought to be rarely or slowly lost when selection relaxes, but attempts to confirm this are rare. At the same time, behaviors can be

academic.oup.com

It was very nice to be asked by @theconversation.com to write about this fascinating new research. Pigeons in Bronze Age Cyprus! Big congrats to the authors. Excited to see what more we can learn about the early stages of the human-pigeon relationship… doi.org/10.64628/AB....

The pigeon fanciers of the Bronze Age

Why pigeons deserve more respect.

doi.org

Separately, whilst on St Kilda last month working on these endemic Wrens, a Redpoll which flew into our nets already had an ID ring. Turns out it was ringed in September 2025 as a first-year bird, on Sula in Norway. That's 1135km away from St Kilda! @jezierskimt.bsky.social @stkildawhs.bsky.social

Michał Jezierski@jezierskimt.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Our (Jenny Dunn, Carolina Chagas, @willjsmith.bsky.social) paper on the evolution of island Wrens is finally out @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social! We describe the evolution of island gigantism in the St Kilda and Shetland subspecies. academic.oup.com/evolinnean/a...

Grateful to any visitors this season that are able to photograph any of @jezierskimt.bsky.social 's colour-ringed birds in the Village. If you're able to read a darvic ring, please report the alphanumeric code, time and location to NTS staff for contribution to Michal's research 🙏

Michał Jezierski@jezierskimt.bsky.social · 2mo ago

What next? Well, I just slept for 10h, after returning from a month of fieldwork. We've set up a ringing project of St Kilda's Wrens + other passerines, supported by @stkildawhs.bsky.social @britishecologicalsociety.org @leverhulme.ac.uk. With this, we hope to study how island syndromes evolve.

St Kilda Wrens weigh ~14g (large birds >16g!). 7-11g is usual for mainland GB/continental Wrens. So this subspecies can weigh the same as some Great Tits or Blackcaps. GINORMOUS! Congrats @jezierskimt.bsky.social on the paper! #ornithology doi.org/10.1093/evol...

Michał Jezierski@jezierskimt.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Our (Jenny Dunn, Carolina Chagas, @willjsmith.bsky.social) paper on the evolution of island Wrens is finally out @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social! We describe the evolution of island gigantism in the St Kilda and Shetland subspecies. academic.oup.com/evolinnean/a...

Our (Jenny Dunn, Carolina Chagas, @willjsmith.bsky.social) paper on the evolution of island Wrens is finally out @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social! We describe the evolution of island gigantism in the St Kilda and Shetland subspecies. academic.oup.com/evolinnean/a...

Uist's wild Rock Doves seem to be having a solid breeding season so far, with lots of nests (which is good, since they had quite a tough winter). Also nice to see @jezierskimt.bsky.social give a talk on his island Wren research.

NEW Friend or foul? Analysis of pigeon bones from Bronze Age Cyprus sheds light on their ancient relationship with humans for the first time, suggesting they were domesticated centuries earlier than previously attested. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

New in #BirdStudy Using trail cameras to monitor Corncrakes: Use of passive infrared-triggered trail cameras to study timing of breeding and habitat use of Corncrakes Crex crex in Scotland doi.org/10.1080/0006... #ornithology @rspbscience.bsky.social @rspbscotland.bsky.social

Do you know of an inland or coastal Common Gull colony? Any abundance or productivity data on this under-monitored gull would be incredibly valuable for the @smp-seabirds.bsky.social #seabirds #ornithology #ScottishBirds

How do cuckoo mothers choose their optimal individual host? 🪺🪶 Find out about Teresa Abaurrea’s work on our latest blog post! www.informedbirds.com/blog/2026/5/...

How do cuckoo mothers choose the optimal individual host?   — INFORMED BIRDS

Specific host selection efforts by mother cuckoos might not be worth the benefits the chicks will gain when growing.

informedbirds.com

Back from two weeks of field work in the Outer Hebrides. Studying stickleback by trapping, wading, snorkeling, drones, and my first field experience of using @bento.bio lab. Normally we guess what the mitochondrial lineage of the crosses we're making but this year we got to know in the field!

Nice that this has come out as we are in Uist, working with wild Rock Doves. It's great to get to know individuals, following them through their lives out in the meadows, ruins, and caves. If you live on, or visit, the islands, please keep an eye out for ringed doves to help us to learn more 🕊️

Jente Ottenburghs | Avian Hybrids@jenteo.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🥳 New paper in Ornithological Applications! @amornith.bsky.social Research and conservation priorities for domesticated birds’ wild counterparts academic.oup.com/condor/advan... A wonderful collaboration with @willjsmith.bsky.social, Philip Lavrestsky and Eben Gering. #ornithology

🥳 New paper in Ornithological Applications! @amornith.bsky.social Research and conservation priorities for domesticated birds’ wild counterparts academic.oup.com/condor/advan... A wonderful collaboration with @willjsmith.bsky.social, Philip Lavrestsky and Eben Gering. #ornithology

Domestic birds play major roles in our lives - so it's weird that we often lack basic knowledge of their wild forms, e.g. Red Junglefowl 🐓 / Rock Doves 🕊️! Eben Gering, @jenteo.bsky.social 🪿, Philip Lavretsky 🦆, and I discuss research + conservation priorities #Ornithology. doi.org/10.1093/orni...

This beautiful Song Thrush, caught today in Uist (whilst mist netting for @jezierskimt.bsky.social's island bird research), is of the 'hebridensis' subspecies. I can't see any differences cf. those I'm used to seeing in England...? Open to suggestions of features I've not noticed... 🤔 #Ornithology

EARLY VIEW in IBIS Feral Barbary dove phenotypes are lost following Eurasian Collared Dove invasions | onlinelibrary.wiley.... William J. Smith, Michał T. Jezierski, Hein van Grouw | #ornithology 🪶

Whilst on holiday in Fuerteventura, @jezierskimt.bsky.social and I noticed that many visiting birders report 'African Collared Doves'. But we saw only Eurasian birds, or probable hybrids. With Hein van Grouw, we did a mini study exploring this 🕊️: doi.org/10.1111/ibi.... #Ornithology @bou.org.uk