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....
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...
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...
Variation of migration routes in the central Asian-breeding Common Cuckoo population influenced by the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
September 2025
Ecological barriers present significant challenges to bird migration by limiting the availability of stopover sites and shelters. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, a major migratory barrier located in higher...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
Patterns and drivers of waterbird alpha and beta diversity are different between arid and humid regions of China
June 2026
Waterbirds are vital for wetland ecosystems, but climate change and human activities are harming these habitats globally, reducing biodiversity and threatening waterbird survival. In China, wetlands...
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...
Effects of wind and temperature on the migration decisions of a short-distance migratory shorebird across the annual cycle
June 2026
Elucidating the spatial-temporal characteristics and influencing factors of migration activities is the basis for understanding the life cycle of migratory birds and for making conservation measures....
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...
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...
Highly urbanized areas are not absolute barriers: Assessing avian habitat connectivity in a megacity via the omnidirectional connectivity model
June 2026
Maintaining habitat connectivity for birds has become a central challenge in urban biodiversity conservation. Taking the Shanghai metropolitan area as a representative case, this study integrates citizen...
Migratory birds as global pathogen vectors: Ecological roles, transmission pathways, and emerging zoonotic risks
Available online 10 April 2026
Migratory birds are emerging as primary vectors of infectious agents, including viruses, bacteria, vector-borne pathogens, and fungal pathogens, posing a considerable and geographically unrestricted...
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...
How do wintering waterbird communities respond to polder restoration in a Ramsar wetland of the Yangtze River Basin, China? A functional and phylogenetic perspective
June 2026
Wetland restoration has been increasingly implemented to compensate for the substantial loss of natural wetlands, and consideration of multidimensional biodiversity is essential for evaluating how restoration...
Metagenomic analysis of vitamins B and K2 biosynthesis by gut microbiota in wild birds
June 2026
The role of gut microbiota in vitamin biosynthesis in wild birds, which is essential for understanding avian health and ecological adaptation, remains largely unexplored. In this study, metagenomic...
Quantifying avian wing shapes: Evaluating indices, their relationships, and ecological correlates
December 2025
Avian wings are central to their remarkable flight ability and diverse life history strategies, including behaviors such as fighting and mating. These multifaceted functions are intricately tied to...
Avian hippocampus: Recent advances in anatomy and physiological functions
2024
The avian hippocampus, akin to its mammalian counterpart, plays a critical role in cognitive and physiological processes despite notable structural differences. Initially thought to be less developed,...
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...
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,...
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...
Patterns and drivers of beta diversity in bird communities associated with blue-green infrastructure in rapidly urbanizing landscapes
March 2026
Habitat loss driven by land-use change is a major factor shaping the dynamics of urban bird community structures. However, the potential mechanisms by which the spatial configuration and composition...