Currently reading "How Life Works" by Philip Ball. Definitely an interesting book. However, the first chapters are dedicated to bashing a strawman-version of the gene's-eye-view of biology. Completely unnecessary. It actually makes me dislike the author. 😐 Let's hope it gets better...

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Are we missing something? Exploring the diversity of white-eye species on the African mainland avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/09/12/a... #ornithology

It has taken me many years to develop and continually update the Avian Hybrids Project (it started in 2014). avianhybrids.wordpress.com The website has been a useful resource for many #ornithology colleagues, but occasionally I receive these blunt comments. 🙄 The best approach is a polite answer.

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Blackcaps help to unravel the genetic basis of bird migration avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/08/30/b... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! How many members of the Lesser Whitethroat complex breed in Iran? avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/08/25/h... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! What drives avian speciation in the Amazonian floodplains? avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/08/20/w... #ornithology

My latest paper on avian hybridization has been submitted! Now waiting for the editor and - hopefully - the reviews... 😀 #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Selection on metabolism and memory in a moving Chickadee hybrid zone avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/08/17/s... #ornithology

New story on the Avian Hybrids blog! Can translocation stop the decline of Egyptian Vultures in the Balkans? avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2025/09/17/c... Based on the Journal of Ornithology paper by Anastasios Bounas et al. | #ornithology #RaptorResearch

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Surprisingly high genetic diversity in an island species: What happened to the Raso Lark? avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/08/13/s... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Genetic bridges: Medium ground finch functions as a conduit for gene flow between two other Darwin’s Finches avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/08/09/g... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! The curious case of the Vaurie’s nightjar avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/08/05/t... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Colorful females, dull males and everything in between: the complex evolution of plumage patterns in the Pacific Robin avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/08/01/c... #ornithology

I still need to read the entire paper, but this is a surprising result! 🤔 Rapid establishment of species barriers in plants compared with that in animals | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Complicated Cotingas: Can we resolve any phylogeny by just adding more data? avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/07/29/c... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Loss of migration leads to speciation in the Fork-Tailed Flycatcher avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/07/24/l... #ornithology

🦣🍖🧬 Fully funded 3-yr PhD in palaeogenomics & bioinformatics! Help me push non-model palaeogenomes beyond their limits @DTU in Denmark. Start: Feb 2026 (flexible) Application deadline: 24 Oct 2025 For details click here: tinyurl.com/BioExtPhD Reposts appreciated 😁

Alweer een tenenkrommende column in de Resource. De schrijver pleit voor kritisch denken en moeilijke onderwerpen vanuit een ander perspectief benaderen. Maar daarna valt hij het beleid van de universiteit aan zonder hun perspectief te bekijken. Hypocriet. www.resource-online.nl/index.php/20...

New story on the Avian Hybrids blog! To be or not to be a separate species: A probabilistic approach to the species problem avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2025/09/10/t... Based on the Molecular Ecology paper by Jan Kollár and his colleagues | #SciComm 🧪

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Do plumage patterns support the eleven subspecies of the Velazquez’s Woodpecker? avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/07/23/d... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Ready, set, speciate: The role of sex chromosomes in the divergence of Reunion grey white-eye morphs avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/07/21/r... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Crossbills show there is more to evolution than natural selection avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/07/18/c... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Solving the seabird paradox: How does genetic differentiation arise in highly mobile species? avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/07/15/s... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Splitting scimitar babblers: Genetics and morphology point to two distinct species avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/07/09/s... #ornithology

Crazy discovery in ants 🤯🐜 One mother for two species via obligate cross-species cloning in ants | Nature www.nature.com/articles/s41... "Males from the same mother exhibit distinct genomes and morphologies, as they belong to species that diverged over 5 million years ago."

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Do rivers promote avian speciation in the subtropics? avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/07/07/d... #ornithology

New story on the Avian Hybrids blog! The reticulated past (and present) of Birds-of-Paradise avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2025/09/03/t... Based on the Molecular Ecology study by Filip Thörn and his colleagues | #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Captive-bred ducks are genetically swamping wild Mallard populations in eastern North America avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/07/05/c... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! A suite of subfamilies: How to classify the estrildid finches? avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/a... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Do crows engage in extra-pair copulations to avoid hybridization? avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/07/02/d... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Taxonomy in flux: The story of three flatbills and a flammulated flycatcher avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/06/28/t... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Saving the Snowy Plover: How many conservation units should we protect? avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/06/23/s... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Can you deduce the activity patterns of owl species from their eye color? avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/06/21/c... #ornithology #RaptorResearch

New story on the Avian Hybrids blog! Exploring the relationship between mitochondria and mate choice in the Eastern Yellow Robin avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2025/08/27/e... Based on the Molecular Ecology paper by Lana Austin and her colleagues | #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Black hoods or bright eyes: The evolution of plumage patterns in gulls avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/06/17/b... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! A Caribbean connection: How thrushes conquered the world avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/06/16/a... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Ancient DNA helps to place two extinct duck species on the Tree of Life avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/06/02/a... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Cryptic Crows: Genetic study uncovers a wide hybrid zone between American and Northwestern Crow avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/06/01/c... #ornithology

"Praise others. It will bring them peace of mind. Do not expect others to praise you. It will bring you peace of mind." - James Clear

My schedule during these quiet days? Working until 16.00, followed by an early movie at the cinema. 😊🍿 - Yesterday: Nobody 2 - Today: Afterburn - Tomorrow: ???

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Does migratory behavior affect genetic diversity in the Golden-crowned Kinglet? avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/05/30/d... #ornithology

I have been running the Avian Hybrids Project for about 10 years now, attracting visitors from all over the world. Top countries are USA, UK and Canada. However, I am still missing Western Sahara and North Korea for a complete world map...

Pigment contribution to feather mass depends on melanin form and is restricted to approximately 25% | Biology Letters royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.... "A novel metabolic cost for flight associated with different plumage phenotypes." #ornithology

Wild jackdaws learn to tolerate juveniles to exploit new foraging opportunities | Biology Letters royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.... Jackdaws can put aside their "Kids these days"-feelings towards juveniles. 😉 #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Phylogenetics in the genomic era: Reconstructing the evolutionary tree of rails (family Rallidae) avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/05/27/p... #ornithology

New story on the Avian Hybrids blog, focusing on corals 🪸. Can hybridization help corals adapt to climate change? avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2025/08/20/c... Based on the Current Biology study by Mao Furukawa and her colleagues | #scicomm 🧪

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Conservation genetics in China: Comparing genetic diversity of Siberian and Sichuan Jays avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/05/20/c... #ornithology

The last few years, I have mainly focused on teaching, writing papers and blogging. But I have finally found the time to update some pages on the Avian Hybrids Project, starting with woodpeckers (order Piciformes) | #ornithology avianhybrids.wordpress.com/piciformes/

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Figuring out the evolution of forked tails in Swallows and Swifts avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/05/14/f... #ornithology

Your daily Avian Hybrids story! Choosy Snowcocks: How habitat preference can affect genetic population structure avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2020/04/29/c... #ornithology