Visual cues modulate nest defense behavior in Japanese Tits: Insights from the appearance, posture and size of snake dummies
December 2025
Predator dummies are usually used to explore the impact of predator features on the anti-predator behavior of birds. Previous studies have shown that the morphology and behavior of aerial predators...
The product of head height and head width is a strong predictor of brain mass in birds
December 2025
Animal behavioral studies are often combined with research concerning cognitive abilities. Larger brains usually mean more complex neural networks and advanced cognitive functions. By measuring the...
A systematic review of avian response to urbanization in China: Research trends, current insights, and future directions
December 2025
Urbanization is one of the most extreme forms of land-use alteration that is advancing across the world with unprecedented speed. As the largest developing country, China has developed a unique path...
Species status and genetic isolation in the Subalpine Warbler complex: Insights from mitochondrial DNA analysis
December 2025
This study investigates the genetic differentiation and gene flow within the Subalpine Warbler (Curruca cantillans) complex using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis. We focused on three primary populations...
Canalization of globins in the adaptive evolution of birds
December 2025
The globin superfamily, central to oxygen (O2) cascade dynamics, exemplifies how canalization—evolutionary stabilization of phenotypic traits—enables vertebrates to thrive in extreme environments. In...
Escape behaviors of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) across China: Northern populations are bolder than southern populations
December 2025
Urbanization has significantly altered the habitat structure and behavioral patterns of animals. In urban environments with frequent human disturbances, animals may undergo adaptive adjustments in their...
Importance of surrounding landscape features in explaining wintering waterbird diversity and community assembly in Jiangsu's inland lake wetlands
December 2025
As one of the important wintering areas along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, wetlands in the Yangtze River floodplain face threats from land-use changes, yet its effects on wintering waterbirds...
Metagenomic insights into the geographic divergence and functional adaptation of gut microbiota in the endangered Scaly-sided Merganser (Mergus squamatus)
December 2025
Investigating geographical variation and functional adaptation of gut microbiomes in endangered species is an emerging field in conservation biology. Here, we investigated the endangered waterbird,...
Swan Project promotes citizen science initiative through a public bird migration tracking
December 2025
Phylogenetic relatedness overshadows acoustic similarity to regulate responses toward unfamiliar mobbing calls in Masked Laughingthrushes
December 2025
Recognition of heterospecific mobbing calls can occur through both innate and learned mechanisms, with the former often explained by two main hypotheses: the acoustic similarity hypothesis, which emphasizes...
Effects of night lighting on avian cognitive function: Mechanisms involving neurodegeneration, metabolic dysregulation and neuroinflammatory responses
December 2025
The rapid expansion of urbanization has led to widespread exposure of wild birds to intensive light at night (LAN). While previous studies have established LAN-induced cognitive impairment in birds,...
Modeling the effects of urban park 3D environmental features on bird diversity with interpretable machine learning: A case study of Harbin, northeastern China
December 2025
Urban parks are essential habitats for birds in densely built environments. However, most studies focus only on horizontal features, overlooking the role of integrated vertical structures. Using bird...
Parental phenotypes and breeding performance: a review of non-experimental investigation in well-studied Western palearctic tits and flycatchers
December 2025
Numerous hypotheses predict associations between phenotype-associated breeder traits and reproductive success. In secondary cavity-nesting passerine birds, which have been investigated most, up to more...
How many birds are there in Guangdong Province, China?
December 2025
Estimating bird abundance is key to assess threats, and to prioritize conservation actions. However, few studies focus on this topic, particularly in developing countries, which may hamper conservation...
Waterbird image recognition using lightweight deep learning in wetland environment
December 2025
Wetland waterbirds serve as key ecological indicators for assessing habitat quality and biodiversity. Accurate identification of waterbird species is a cornerstone of long-term ecological monitoring....
Birds of a feather: Comprehensive plumage colour analysis for a revised subspecies classification of the Chestnut-winged Babbler (Cyanoderma erythropterum) species complex
December 2025
Quantitative analysis of colouration is an essential tool for subspecies delimitation but has always posed a challenge in avian taxonomy. In this study on the Chestnut-winged Babbler (Cyanoderma erythropterum)...
Impacts of prolonged dry season and artificial food supply on the wintering spatial distribution of Siberian Cranes: Implications for conservation
December 2025
Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake, is a critical wintering ground for most of the global Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus) population. However, increasingly prolonged dry seasons have degraded...
Chinese provincial-level new records for 96 resident bird species reveal poleward range shifts
December 2025
Anthropogenic climate change is altering species distributions globally. While species distributions are expected to shift to higher latitudes and elevations under global warming, empirical evidence...
The predictable HPAI H5 outbreaks in European wild birds
December 2025
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 viruses have caused widespread mortality in wild birds and poultry, with increasing spillover risk into mammals. The recently dominant clade 2.3.4.4b has...
Diversity and prevalence of avian haemosporidians across Afrotropical urban and non-urban habitats
Available online 11 December 2025
Haemosporidian parasites are widespread among birds globally, with impacts ranging from severe disease to negligible effects, particularly in host species that have coevolved with their parasites. Despite...
Decadal banding efforts payoff: assessing Chinese Crested Tern conservation through resighting data
Available online 11 December 2025
The critically endangered Chinese Crested Tern (Thalasseus bernsteini, CCT) and its common flocking companion, the Greater Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii, GCT), have been the focus of targeted recovery...
Spatiotemporal dynamics of migratory shorebird populations in Korean coastal wetlands within the East Asian–Australasian Flyway
Available online 5 December 2025
Shorebirds migrate long-distances along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway (EAAF), exhibiting distinct spatiotemporal fluctuations in population dynamics. Because of habitat degradation and population...
Testing urban edge effects: Nest predation rates are higher in areas further from the boundary of a suburban park
September 2025
Urban green spaces and parks offer opportunities for retaining and increasing bird richness, diversity, and species abundance. However, urbanisation influences predator–prey interactions, leading to...