Automated bird sound recognition in ecology: A methodological review and application framework
September 2026
Automated bird sound recognition (ABSR) has emerged as a transformative tool for avian ecology and conservation, offering an unprecedented ability to monitor biodiversity non-invasively across vast...
Toxicological impacts of persistent organic pollutants on avian physiology: A scientometric and systematic analysis
September 2026
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), primarily from industrial and agricultural sources, pose significant risks to birds due to their environmental pervasiveness, bioaccumulation, and toxicological...
Migratory birds as global pathogen vectors: Ecological roles, transmission pathways, and emerging zoonotic risks
September 2026
Migratory birds have emerged as primary vectors of infectious agents, including viruses, bacteria, vector-borne pathogens, and fungal pathogens, posing a considerable and geographically unrestricted...
Evolution of tooth number and size reveals random evolution and weak directional selection of dentition toward independent tooth loss in Mesozoic birds
December 2026
How their toothed jaws evolve into edentulous beaks remains a key puzzle in early birds. Although some studies using discrete data of dentition have rejected the hypotheses of long-term directional...
Rainfall-driven movements and seasonal space use in Greater and Lesser Flamingos in western India
December 2026
The arid plains of western India support significant populations of the Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) and the Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor). “Flamingo City”, a seasonally flooded...
Trapped in the cradle: Karst formation isolates an ancient lineage of wren-babbler (Gypsophila) leading to cryptic speciation
December 2026
Cryptic speciation from landscape fragmentation presents a major challenge for biodiversity inventories in the geologically complex karst regions of Southwest China. Despite recent discoveries of hidden...
Temporal dynamics of bird species-habitat networks on forested islands
December 2026
Habitat fragmentation reshapes species spatial distributions and community dynamics. Species and their occupied habitats form associations that can be quantified as bipartite networks to reveal how...
Scale-dependent landscape effects on soundscape: A case study in Guangzhou, China
December 2026
As a key acoustic indicator of ecosystem health and human well-being, acoustic indices have attracted growing interdisciplinary attention from the fields of ecology, urban planning and conservation...
Migratory birds as global vectors and evolutionary incubators of antibiotic resistance genes
September 2026
The global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis, fueled by the cross-border dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), poses a critical and escalating threat to public health. Migratory birds,...
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...
A review of eDNA technology in avian monitoring: Current status, challenges and future perspectives
June 2025
In recent years, environmental DNA (eDNA) has garnered significant attention as a novel tool in biodiversity monitoring, recognized for its efficiency, convenience, and non-invasiveness. Despite its...
Avian acoustic communication: Understanding of peripheral and central neural systems with ecological adaptations
June 2025
Avian vocal communication represents one of the most intricate forms of animal language, playing a critical role in behavioral interactions. Both peripheral and central auditory-vocal pathways are essential...
Behavioral innovation correlates with broader climatic niche breadths in birds
September 2026
Behavioral innovation, defined as the ability to exhibit novel behaviors that may contribute to problem-solving and adaptability, has been increasingly recognized as a key factor in species’ resilience...
LiBird: A new universal primer enhancing avian environmental DNA metabarcoding
June 2026
In recent years, global avian diversity has been in continuous decline. Traditional monitoring methods are often constrained by detectability limitations and observational challenges, which makes it...
Spatial pattern and conservation challenges of migratory waterbirds in Asian flyways
March 2026
Migratory birds undertake regular seasonal movements between breeding and non-breeding grounds each year, often spanning intercontinental distances. Several migratory waterbirds are declining globally,...
Penguins at the freshwater–marine boundary: Overlooked ecological linkages and climate-change risks
September 2026
Penguins are usually framed as marine predators, yet freshwater can strongly alter the environments in which they forage, breed and survive. This narrative mini review synthesises evidence for how river...
Landscape and habitat effects on functional and phylogenetic diversity and structure of bird communities in fragmented habitats within an urban landscape, Southwest China
June 2026
Understanding how landscape and habitat characteristics shape species diversity and community structure in fragmented habitats offers insights into the impact of fragmentation on biodiversity. However,...
Migration of Brown-headed Gulls on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: Potential transmission routes for highly pathogenic H5Nx virus
September 2026
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau serves as a critical hub along the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) and a recognized hotspot for the emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses. Despite recurrent...
Bioaccumulation and age-dependent risks of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) in tropical Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) from South China
September 2026
Exposure and risks of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) to juvenile birds are complex due to the transient nature of biological processes when chicks grow. This study quantified the concentrations...
Beyond habitat loss: Spatiotemporal heterogeneity in mediating the effects of urban heat islands on waterbird richness
December 2026
Urbanization alters avian communities through habitat modification, yet the mechanisms by which urban-induced microclimatic changes influence bird diversity remain poorly understood. In particular,...
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...
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...
Bird banding in Asia: Contributions, challenges, and prospects
June 2026
Bird banding is internationally recognized as one of the most useful and cost-effective methods for avian monitoring. While widely adopted in Europe and North America—where it has played a pivotal role...
Temporal responses of the wintering waterbird communities in Shengjin Lake to environmental factors revealed by high-frequency intelligent monitoring system
September 2026
Exploring dynamic responses of wildlife to habitat changes is vital to inform conservation strategies. However, monitoring frequency is often limited for wild animals, impeding fine-grained understanding...