Journal of Avian Biology

@avianbiology

Open access outlet for innovative, hypothesis-driven research on the biology of birds, with a particular emphasis on ecological, evolutionary and behavioural studies. Nordic Society Oikos journal advocating fair, openly accessible and reproducible research

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Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· 10d

New paper: How can we advance avian microbiome research? This perspective identifies key methodological challenges and offers practical recommendations to advance studies of bird–microbe interactions. ➡️ vist.ly/5e36n #microbiome #ornithology #birds #methods

Fig. 2 from the article: Unique sources of variations in avian microbiomes associated with host physiology, immune system, breeding, life-history trajectories, and migration. Bird illustrations are acquired from © Lynx Nature Books (illustrated by Hilary Burn – Parus major, Norman Arlott – Porphyrio hochstetteri, Tim Worfolk – Philetairus socius, Francesc Jutglar – Struthio camelus and Limosa lapponica).

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· 13d

New paper: How does age influence migration timing? In great reed warblers, the oldest males depart earlier and arrived earlier than younger males, suggesting experience or age-related changes may shape spring migration schedules. ➡️ vist.ly/5dqbk #MigrationEcology #Ornithology #birds

Great reed warbler. Photo: Wikimedia commons

Fig. 1 from the article: Departure dates from the wintering grounds (1 = 1 April) for adult great reed warblers divided into three age groups for males and females separately.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· 18d

New paper: Is migration more dangerous during disease outbreaks? Long-term GPS tracking of rough-legged buzzards suggests highly pathogenic avian influenza substantially increased mortality risk during both spring and autumn migration. ➡️ vist.ly/5d8rb #MigrationEcology #Ornithology

Cover showing a photo of a rough-legged buzzard/hawk. Photo: Neil Paprocki

Fig. 2 from the article: Continent-wide average latitude (A) and seasonal distribution of mortalities (B), (C) across the full annual cycle derived from 186 GPS-tracked Buteo lagopus in North America from 2014 to 2026. (A) Average daily latitude (± SD) for all 186 GPS-tracked B. lagopus used for seasonal definitions in survival models. Full annual cycle distribution of 80 mortalities colored by major cause of death during baseline (B) and avian influenza (C) study periods.

Fig. 4 from the article: Effects of (A) age (in days) and (B) longitude (in decimal degrees) on hazard ratios (relative mortality risk) of 186 GPS-tracked Buteo lagopus in North America from 2014 to 2026.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· 21d

New paper: flight is costly—but so are infections. This review highlights how the immune system + pathogens can contribute to changes in the oxidative balance of migrating birds, with consequences for migratory behaviour and strategies ➡️ vist.ly/5crkm #ornithology #migration #pathogens

Six storks flying in formation against a blue sky.

Fig. 2 from the article: A framework for theoretical relationships between migration, oxidative balance, and disease in birds.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· 25d

New paper: Do all black crow feathers look the same? American crow feather coloration varied with age, but not sex, and visual modelling suggests these subtle differences are detectable by crows and may be relevant for social communication. ➡️vist.ly/5ccds #Ornithology #birds

American crow. Photo courtesy of Anne B. Clark.

Fig. 3 from the article: Feather coloration (hue VIS and hue UV) is positively related to American crow age class.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· 29d

New paper: How flexible are migratory stopovers? A 30-year study of western sandpipers shows little change in stopover duration across four key Pacific Flyway sites, suggesting limited scope to adjust refuelling time in response to environmental change ➡️ vist.ly/5bvqt #Ornithology

Western sandpipers. Photo: Frank Schulenburg, Wikimedia commons

Fig. 4 from the article: Annual variation in average length of stay (LOS, days) of western sandpipers at four sequential stopover sites on the Pacific Coast of North America, 1992–2022.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jul 18

New paper: how does raising young affect the movements of a territorial raptor? GPS tracking of Bonelli’s eagles shows that successful breeders spend more time in flight after their young have fledged, suggesting delayed costs of reproduction. ➡️ vist.ly/5bpy9 #ornithology #movement

Bonelli's eagle. Photo: Mike Prince, Wikimedia commons

Fig. 2 from the article: Estimated range of movement (median distance in metres between all recorded locations within a single day and the centroid derived from these locations, with 95% confidence interval) for (a) male and (b) female Bonelli's eagles Aquila fascita, depending on breeding phase and breeding status.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jul 15

New paper: how does phenology of migratory birds change in non-breeding areas? Analyses of 24 years of ringing data from Nigeria show species-specific shifts in migration timing, consistent with possible evolutionary adjustment to climate change. ➡️ vist.ly/5bcwt #ornithology #birds

Spotted flycatcher. Photo: Derek Keats, Wikimedia commons

Fig. 5 from the article: Effect of temperature during the pre-migratory phase in Nigeria (mean February to March) on timing of peak pre-breeding passage from Jos (mean and CRIs of posterior distribution). Significant relationships (CRIs not overlapping 0) are indicated with solid lines and darker shading.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jul 9

New paper: how does dietary variation affect yolk fatty acids? In great tits, differences in beech seed availability between years are associated with substantial shifts in egg yolk fatty acids, linking forest food variation to embryo nutrition ➡️ vist.ly/5ajwh #ornithology #birds #diet

Great tit. Photo: Frank Vassen, Wikimedia commons

Fig. 2 from the article: Proportion of total (A) saturated (SFA), (B) monounsaturated (MUFA), (C) ω-6 polyunsaturated (PUFA), (D) ω-3 PUFA fatty acids, and (E) the ratio between the two PUFA classes in great tit egg yolk during two years with either high (2015) or low (2016) availability of beech seeds.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jul 7

Great bird science starts with great methods 🐦🔬 We are pleased to announce the launch of a new article type: Methods and Tools Read more here: vist.ly/5abuz To help launch our new article type, we have put together a Virtual Issue: vist.ly/5abuu #ornithology #methods #tools

Close-up of a red kite with text: 'Methods and Tools: expanding the avian research toolkit'.

Person holding a small bird with tagging equipment.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jul 7

Looking forward to 3 days of great #biologyresearch at #SEBConference! Come and say hello in the exhibitor hall and get some @nordicoikos.bsky.social.bsky swag! Hope to chat to many of you about our journals and our society! #ecology #ornithology #evolution #physiology #plants

Nordic Society Oikos table with Michi Tobler

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jul 5

New paper: How do immune and oxidative status differ with age in a long-lived seabird? Older Scopoli's shearwaters show higher antioxidant enzyme activity + some elevated immune markers, but no detectable increase in DNA damage or signs of immunosenescence ➡️ vist.ly/5a652 #ornithology

Scopoli's shearwater. Photo: David Costantini

Fig. 2 from the article: Haemagglutination titer (Ha) (a), levels of haptoglobin (expressed in mg ml–1) (b), and IgY (expressed in µg ml–1) (c), and number of lymphocytes (d), monocytes (e), eosinophils (f), heterophils (g) and basophils (h) (all expressed in number of cells/104 red blood cells), in relation to the age class of shearwaters.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jul 5

📣 Third issue of 2026 complete! From bird sounds to migration, epigenetics and connectivity, explore new cutting-edge #ornithology research ⬇️ vist.ly/5a4zh Cover featuring the article by Rosado- Llerena et al on Andean foothill connectivity ➡️ vist.ly/5a4zk #birds 🪶

Photo of a white-tipped sicklebill. Photo credit: Paula Carrera Levy.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jul 3

✨Special issue contribution Introduced house sparrows showed more numerous, larger, and more variable DNA-methylation changes after simulated infection than native birds, suggesting distinct epigenetic responses that may aid introduction success. ➡️ vist.ly/59y5v #ornithology #birds 🪶

Fig. 1 from the article: introduced house sparrows had more sites with significant change in DNA methylation and a larger magnitude of change in DNA methylation between 0- and 8-h after lipopolysaccharide injection.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jul 2

✨ Special issue contribution In urban great tits, epigenetic changes in the DRD4 gene help explain tolerance to human disturbance, influencing vigilance and return behavior after disruption ➡️ vist.ly/59tvs #ornithology #birds #urbanization #epigenetics #behaviour

Great tit. Photo: Sławek Staszczuk, Wikimedia commons.

Fig. 2 from the article: association between return latency of the parent birds and the level of methylation (%) of six CpG sites.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jul 2

✨Special issue contribution What regulates seasonal life-history stages in environments with little seasonality? Research on rufous-collared sparrows suggests DNA methylation may contribute to the flexible expression of breeding and molt ➡️ vist.ly/59stz #ornithology #birds #epigenetics

Rufous-collared sparrow. Photo: Charles Sharp, Wikimedia commons

Fig. 5 from the article: Volcano plots illustrating differentially methylated regions (DMRs) across contrasts: (a-b) life history stage (LHS) (Table1); (significant thresholds are shown in red, yellow, and blue, using thresholds of p ≤ 0.05, p ≤ 0.005, and p ≤ 0.0005 for varying levels of significance. (c) Bar plot showing the total number of DMRs (p ≤ 0.05) for each contrast, with hypermethylated (Foldchange +) and hypomethylated (Foldchange -) regions classified relative to the first group in each comparison.

Fig. 7 from the article: UpSet plots illustrating the overlap among different life history stage (LHS) contrasts for (a) all single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), (b) all differentially methylated regions (DMRs).

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jul 1

✨ Special issue contribution Comparing two DNA methylation methods for building epigenetic clocks in chestnut-crowned babblers. Whole-genome enzymatic methyl sequencing yield highly accurate age estimates, outperforming fragment-based approaches. ➡️ vist.ly/59psq #ornithology #birds

Chestnut-crowned babbler. Photo: JJ Harrison, Wikimedia commons.

Fig. 1 from the article: Epigenetic (predicted) versus chronological (known) age in the train (A) and test (B) datasets using WGEM-seq data as input using a 10-fold CV. The solid line shows the regression line. The dashed line indicates a perfect correlation (r = 1) between epigenetic and chronological age.

Fig. 2 from the article: Epigenetic (predicted) versus chronological (known) age in the train (A) and test (B) datasets using epiRADseq data as input using a 10-fold CV.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jul 1

✨ Special issue contribution Vitellogenin expression and DNA methylation in the VTG2 promoter changed between pre- and early breeding in dark-eyed juncos, indicating that liver epigenetic regulation may contribute to seasonal timing of reproduction ➡️ vist.ly/59nku #ornithology #birds 🪶

Dark-eyed junco. Photo: Wikimedia commons, Cephas.

Fig. 1 from the article: Liver expression of the vitellogenin gene (VTG2) was greater in birds sampled during the early-breeding period compared with the pre-breeding period.

Fig. 3 from the article: Percent DNA methylation in liver tissue of each of three CpG sites located 900–990 bp upstream from the start codon of VTG2 from individuals sampled during the pre-breeding or during the early-breeding period.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jun 30

✨ Special issue contribution House sparrows from native ranges and stable climates show higher expression levels of key DNA methylation enzymes across tissues, suggesting these enzymes may help birds adjust traits during range expansions ➡️ vist.ly/59k44 #ornithology #birds #epigenetics

Fig. 2 from the article: Factors that predict DNMT1 (A), DNMT3 (B) and TET2 (C) gene expression in house sparrows from across the globe. Visual summary of intercepts and fixed-effects estimates from model selection results.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jun 30

✨ Special issue contribution Circulating miRNAs in wild ruddy turnstones show sex- and age-related responses to low pathogenic avian influenza virus infection, highlighting their potential as non-invasive markers for avian health and infection dynamics ➡️ vist.ly/59iaq #ornithology

Fig. 5 from the article: Distributions of normalised log2-transformed miRNA abundance across AIV status and sex for three selected miRNAs quantified with qPCR: (a) ain-miR-novel-1-3p, (b) ain-miR-122-5p, and (c) ain-miR-2954-3p.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jun 29

✨ New Special Issue Out! "Novel Insights and Future Directions in Avian Ecological Epigenetics" Highlighting how epigenetic mechanisms shape ecologically relevant traits in birds, and identifying knowledge gaps for future research on avian epigenetics. ➡️ vist.ly/59ewk #ornithology 🪶

Cover of the special issue on "Novel Insights and Future Directions in Avian Ecological Epigenetic" showing a picture of a great tit. Photo: Kees van Oers.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jun 27

New paper: How do Egyptian vultures balance moult, migration, and breeding? Analyses of 740 moult records show that sedentary populations replace more feathers annually than migratory populations, reflecting different life-history trade-offs ➡️ vist.ly/59a5x #ornithology #birds #moult

Third calendar year Egyptian vulture trapped in the Canary Islands. Photo: Manuel de la Riva.

Fig. 2 from the article: Sequence of remiges moult of Egyptian vultures during the first five calendar years. The wings show the average state of moult in February, showing the remiges moulted during winter (blue), and September, showing the remiges moulted in summer (orange). The paler colours show feathers moulted one or two years prior. White feathers belong to juvenile plumage, orange arrows represent the autumn migration, and blue arrows the spring migration.

Fig. 3 from the article: Violin plots of the moult score indices of adults of eight subpopulations of Egyptian vultures. Colours refer to migration type (short-distance migrant, migrant, mixed, and sedentary).

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jun 23

New paper: Can dietary flexibility benefit seabirds when marine resources become less predictable? Lesser black-backed gull pairs that adjusted their diet more between years produced heavier chicks in the year with the lowest marine contribution ➡️ vist.ly/58pxv #ornithology #birds #diet

Lesser black-backed gull eating pigeon. Photo: Lukas Large, Wikimedia commons.

Fig. 2 from the article: Relationship between (A) the change in mean body mass at fledging, (C) the change in mean tarsus length at fledging, and the change in marine diet within breeding pairs between the years of highest and lowest marine diet proportion. [(B) not shown]

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jun 18

New paper: what affects dive duration in diving birds? A comparative study of 53 bird species shows that wing- and foot-propelled divers differ in dive duration, suggesting that swimming mode contributes to variation in diving performance. ➡️ vist.ly/589eb #ornithology #birds #behaviour

Diving cormorant. Photo: Tim Kullack, Wikimedia commons

Fig. 2 from the article: Comparison of dive duration relative to body mass and dive depth between wing- (red circles) and foot-propelled (blue circles) birds. Maximum dive duration is plotted against (A) body mass and (B) maximum dive depth. Similarly, mean dive duration is plotted against (C) body mass and (D) mean dive depth. Blue stars represent blue-eyed shags.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jun 14

New paper: how does forestry affect different tit species? 30 years of data from Finland show that clear-cutting and thinning can have contrasting effects on willow, great and blue tits, with consequences for recruitment and population persistence. ➡️ vist.ly/57q7h #ornithology #birds

Willow tit. Photo: Francis Franklin, Wikimedia commons

Fig. 3 from the article: Probability to fledge in relation to (A1) percentage of 0–4 years old clear-cuttings within a 113 m buffer from the nest (willow tit), (A2) percentage of 5–10 years old clear-cuttings within a 113 m buffer from the nest (willow tit), (A3) percentage of 11–20 years old clear-cuttings within a 113 m buffer from the nest (willow tit), (B) percentage of 0–10 years old thinnings within a 329 m buffer from the nest (great tit), (C1) percentage of 0–10 years old thinnings within a 329 m buffer from the nest (blue tit), and (C2) percentage of 11–30 years old thinnings within a 329 m buffer from the nest (blue tit) with the 95% confidence intervals.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jun 10

New paper: decoding song of one of the least studied North American passerines. Passive acoustic monitoring shows diel separation in song type use, as well as distinct daily and seasonal patterns for primary and flight songs for the LeConte's sparrow. ➡️ vist.ly/579ik #ornithology #birds

LeConte's sparrow. Photo: Wikimedia commons

Fig. 6 from the article: Count of a) primary song and b) flight songs for different diel periods across the season. Fitted model estimates from models for count for each song that were run separately.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jun 5

New paper: how complex is parrot communication? Yellow-naped amazons use duet calls built from 36 call types arranged by syntactic rules, with many calls biased toward or exclusive to one sex, revealing sophisticated vocal communication. ➡️ vist.ly/56r7w #ornithology #birds #syntax

Cover of Journal of Avian Biology with a photo of a yellow-naped amazon. Photo credit: JD Gilardi, World Parrot Trust.

Fig. 3 from the article: Sex-bias and specificity of call types in addition to occurrences for warble calls of yellow-naped amazons from the north dialect. The male and female specific occurrences are shown as a percentage, with the male percentage in blue and female in pink. Dashed bars indicate that the percentages for that call type were greater than 75% and the call types was either sex-biased or sex-specific.

Fig. 4 from the article: Examples of collocations for common call types that we adapted from the ‘links' visualization tool in Voyant: (A) Scree call, (B) M call, (C) C call. Each figure depicts a featured call (central) with 4–5 of its most commonly associated call types. Other significant collocations beyond that of the featured call are depicted when possible.

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· Jun 3

Migratory birds perform extraordinary journeys—but we still don’t fully understand how they do it. #TiiaKärkkäinen, @pablosalmon.bsky.social & @barbarahelm.bsky.social reveal why the field of migration physiology is still wide open for new discoveries ➡️ vist.ly/56fr7 #ornithology

We asked the guest editors Tiia Kärkkäinen, Pablo Salmón and Barbara Helm how the issue came together, what discoveries that surprised them most, and why the field remains wide open for the next generation of curious minds.

Quote: "Developing collaborative networks/consortiums across disciplines, systems and geographic regions, including in the Global South, could be a powerful vision".

Quote: "As an editor, I was surprised how many of the papers in this special issue came to unexpected conclusions or to intriguing conundrums."

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· May 31

New paper: why do birds consume faeces? Novel records of coprophagy in alpine choughs during winter suggest that this behaviour may have nutritional or microbial benefits during periods of food limitation. ➡️ vist.ly/563ik #ornithology #behaviour #birds #diet #microbiome

Alpine chough. Photo: Björn S., Wikimedia commons

Fig. 2 from the article: Effect of individual activity (a) and faeces consistency (b) on the likelihood of observing coprophagy and the effect of group size (c) on the likelihood of auto- versus allocoprophagy. Shown are the model estimates ± 95% confidence intervals (black), and the raw data (grey; node size represents the sample size in each category).

Journal of Avian Biology@avianbiology· May 29

📣 EXTENDED SUBMISSION DEADLINE 📣 Special issue - Call for papers FROM CHIRPS TO INSIGHTS: PASSIVE ACOUSTIC MONITORING FOR APPLIED ORNITHOLOGY More info: vist.ly/55veu Guest editors: #JanO.Engler, #JennFoote, @silvereyedom.bsky.social #SimonThorn #ornithology #birds #bioacoustics 🪶🧪