Achievements, challenges, and recommendations for waterbird conservation in China's coastal wetlands
2023
China's coastal wetlands provide breeding, migration stopover, and wintering habitats for about 230 waterbird species, which is more than a quarter of all waterbirds in the world. Large-scale and high...
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Negative effects of artificial nest boxes on birds: A review
2023
Artificial nest boxes are placed to attract birds to nest and breed in a specific location, and they are widely used in avian ecology research and in the attraction of insectivorous birds. There is...
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Litter buffet: On the use of trash bins by birds in six boreal urban settlements
2023
Unintentional food resources in urban areas (street litter, food leftovers, overflowing trash bins) are dietary components of some urban-exploiter bird species. In this study, we report on 13 bird species...
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Vultures as a model for testing molecular adaptations of dietary specialization in birds
2023
Vultures are the only obligate scavengers among extant vertebrates. They provide valuable ecological services in ecosystems through removing carcasses, thus preventing the growth of other scavenger...
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Phylogenetic definitions for 25 higher-level clade names of birds
2022
Knowledge of the higher-level phylogenetic relationships of birds has grown substantially during the past two decades due to the application of genomic data. However, the nomenclature of higher-level...
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Migration pattern of a population of Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) breeding in East Asian tropical region
2024
Birds exhibit a high degree of migratory diversity, which is influenced by various ecological factors and life history strategies. Conducting studies on tropical bird migration, of which research is...
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Visual cognition of birds and its underlying neural mechanism: A review
2022
Birds have acute vision and many remarkable visual cognition abilities, due to their unique living environment. The underlying neural mechanisms have also attracted interests of researchers in neuroscience....
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Combining video and GPS-tracking to study the spatial foraging distribution of a single-prey loading seabird
2024
Seabirds are valuable indicators of marine ecosystem processes and studying seabird diets can shed light on natural or human-induced variability in food-web composition. Specifically single-prey loading...
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Detecting the distribution of and public attitudes to charismatic alien species based on media coverage
2024
Charismatic species are often reported by the media, providing information for detecting population status and public perception. To identify the number and distribution of free-living Black Swan (Cygnus...
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More than a simple egg: Underlying mechanisms of cold tolerance in avian embryos
2023
Avian embryos, which develop within eggs, exhibit remarkable tolerance to extremely low temperatures. Despite being a common trait among all birds, the mechanisms underlying this cold tolerance in avian...
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Impact of agricultural landscape structure on the patterns of bird species diversity at a regional scale
2023
The loss of bird species diversity is a crucial problem in the European agricultural landscape. Change in the area coverage of major land cover types has been mentioned as one of the main factors responsible...
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Feeding ecology and interactions with mammal hosts in a symbiotic genus of birds (Buphagus spp.) in Namibia
2024
As the sole obligate symbiotic birds in Africa, oxpeckers offer a unique model for studying symbiotic relationships. Due to the multitrophic level they occupy and the context dependent foraging behavior...
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Habitat-dependent breeding biology of the Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) across a continuous and heterogeneous Mediterranean woodland
2023
Mediterranean woodland environments are characterised by high spatial and temporal heterogeneity, which means the inhabiting species face a wide variety of selective pressures. Species may respond differently...
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The intensity of supplementary feeding in an urban environment impacts overwintering Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) as wintering conditions get harsher
2024
Although urbanization poses various threats to avifauna, some bird species, including Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), choose towns and cities as their wintering habitats, possibly due to favourable temperatures...
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Population genomic data reveal low genetic diversity, divergence and local adaptation among threatened Reeves's Pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii)
2024
Population genomic data could provide valuable information for conservation efforts; however, limited studies have been conducted to investigate the genetic status of threatened pheasants. Reeves's...
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Systematics of the avian family Alaudidae using multilocus and genomic data
2023
The family Alaudidae, larks, comprises 93–100 species (depending on taxonomy) that are widely distributed across Africa and Eurasia, with single species extending their ranges to North and northernmost...
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Anthropogenic nesting materials and reproductive performance of Chinese Bulbuls (Pycnonotus sinensis) along the urbanization gradient in Hangzhou, China
2024
Urbanization induced by human activities presents both challenges and adaptive opportunities for wildlife. One notable impact of urban sprawl is the vast amount of waste it produces, which has discernible...
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Endochondral ossification of hindlimbs in embryonic development of Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica)
2024
The endochondral ossification of hindlimb is essential to a bird's ability to stand, walk and fly. Most hindlimb is ossified in the embryos before hatching in precocial birds. However, the molecular...
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Genetic benefits of female from extra-pair paternity are context dependent within the socially monogamous Tree Sparrow
2024
Females actively seek extra-pair paternity (EPP) to acquire a fitness advantage for their offspring. The “context-dependence hypothesis” posits that female extra-pair mate choice has plasticity in response...
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Diverse foraging strategies of breeding Swinhoe's Storm-petrel in the productive marginal sea of the Northwest Pacific
2024
Understanding the foraging behavior is essential for investigating seabird ecology and conservation, as well as monitoring the well-being of the marine environment. Breeding seabirds adopt diverse foraging...
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Hummingbird-plant interactions in Chile: An ecological review of the available evidence
2022
Hummingbird species have closely evolved with the plants they feed on, which is confirmed by their often tight ecological relationships in natural settings. Hummingbird-plant interactions are of interest...
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Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) and Little Tern (Sternula albifrons) prefer shells for nesting: A field experiment
2024
Shorebird populations are declining worldwide, mainly due to human disturbances and loss of coastal wetlands. However, supratidal habitats as saltpans could play a role in buffering human impact. Saltpans...
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Migration and wintering of vulnerable adult Chinese Egrets (Egretta eulophotes) revealed by GPS tracking
2022
Knowledge of migratory bird requirements is critical to developing conservation plans for vulnerable migratory species. This study aimed to determine the migration routes, wintering areas, habitat uses,...
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From partial to complete: Wing- and tail-feather moult sequence and intensity depend on species, life-cycle stage, and moult completeness in passerines
2024
Passerines moult during various life-cycle stages. Some of these moults involve the retention of a variable quantity of wing and tail feathers. This prompts the question whether these partial moults...
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Fecal DNA metabarcoding reveals the dietary composition of wintering Red-crowned Cranes (Grus japonensis)
2023
Understanding the diet of threatened wildlife is vital for species-specific conservation and habitat management measures. The Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis) is a vulnerable bird distributed in...
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