🎓✨ It’s official – I am now a Ph.D. 🎓✨ After years of research, fieldwork, writing, and countless discussions, I successfully defended my dissertation on predator recognition in birds. I couldn’t have done this without the support of my colleagues, mentors, friends, family and birds. Thank you! 🦅🙏

🤩 Both amusing and informative! #BirdCognition #Ornithology 🪶

Our new review on numerical cognition in birds, just out in Nature Reviews Psychology! 🐦🧠 Behavior, neurobiology & field studies across avian species Very fond of the neurobiology part :) 📖 Read it here: rdcu.be/eyErI

Food availability affects parental anti-predator behaviour in red kites | doi.org/10.1002/jav.... | Journal of Avian Biology | #ornithology #RaptorResearch 🪶

Selection Shapes Diverse Animal Minds: our special issue of @royalsocietypublishing.org Phil Trans B on the diverse evolutionary processes underlying cognitive evolution is out today. Thanks to all our contributors! royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...

😍 Thank you, Maja, for the wonderful summary of our research. I would like to add that this is not all—another batch of crazy bird scarecrows will be coming soon. Stay tuned 🤩🪶🦅🧪 @ckecz.bsky.social #BirdCognition #Ornithology

Goffins, shrikes, tits — I had the pleasure of talking about all of them at #VetMedUni in Vienna! 🇦🇹🪶🦜🦅 Thanks to @mohara.bsky.social and @bmioduszewska.bsky.social for the invitation. 🤩 It was fantastic to catch up with this wonderful group of brilliant people over good 🍻 #ComparativeCognition

Horror monsters for birds By modifying the eyes of the sparrowhawks, great tits find them: either harmless like a pigeon (with no eyes), or absolutely terrifying (with frontal eyes in line or under the beak). (paper) www.researchgate.net/publication/... @laniusondrej.bsky.social

1/7 Alternatives for a complex mind Look at the image, it shows the proportion of neurons in the pallium (in blue) and in the cerebellum (red). Primates (including humans) have a rodent-like proportion (paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... by @gallinaciega.bsky.social via @Raccoonologist

🧠🦅 Facial configuration matters 🦅🧠 We tested if wild #GreatTits recognise predators not just by what facial elements are present (eyes, beak), but also how they’re arranged. 👁️🔄 Rotate the eyes 90° = more fear 👁️↩️ Rotate them 180° = same fear 👁️🚫 No eyes/beak = no fear #BirdCognition 🐦🪶🧪 #JCOMP

Our paper, on viewing condition and the evolution of plumage colour, is published! This was several years of work, building on our study of woodcock communication. Working with @sheardcat.bsky.social and John was a particular privilege. 🪶🧪#ornithology royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

🧠🦅 Czech interview about bird intelligence in Czech Radio České Budějovice 🦅🧠 @irozhlas.cz budejovice.rozhlas.cz/moudry-jako-... #Ornithology #AnimalCognition 🪶

❗️🧠 I'm reminding this starter pack, anyone who wants to be added, let me know. #BirdCognition 🧪🪶🦜🦅🦉🐦‍⬛🦆🐥

Coming later this year, the 10th hole-nesting bird conference, from 10-12 Sept in beautiful Olomouc, Czech Republic. Held every 3-4 years, this is a great meeting bringing all those interested in cavity-nesting birds (natural & artificial) together. #ornithology zoologie.upol.cz/hnb-2025/

🐝 According to the discovery of a new fossil hoverfly with a well-preserved mimetic color pattern, the occurrence of accurate wasp mimics preceded the dominance of passerine birds in Europe. 🐦 Read more in a new paper ⬇️ doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...

‼️ CogEvo 2025 🧠 🚨 A unique workshop on cognition, neuroscience, evolution and development organized by the Center for Mind/Brain Sciences. 🗓️ July 17-18, 2025 📍 Rovereto, Italy 🇮🇹 🔗 Registration: event.unitn.it/cogevo/ #CogEvo2025 #CogEvo #Cognition #Neuroscience

🦅🧠 Bird Cognition 🧠🦅 Anyone who studies or is just fascinated by how birds perceive, learn, remember and solve problems 🐦 Let's all meet in this cool new #starterpack 🤩 Let me know if you want to join in too 🦜🦤🦉🦆🐣🪺🪶🧪 🔗 go.bsky.app/V2K7HQM #Ornithology #Birds #AnimalBehaviour

Have you ever wondered why #woodpeckers don't get stuck in trees? I answer that question in the latest post of my newsletter “Beaks & Bones”. 🪶🧪 You can read it here for free: beaksandbones.substack.com/p/woodpecker... #birds #ornithology #biology #nature

Check out the way this Long-eared Owl changes the shape of its facial disk when it hears a rodent below it:

🥳 Successfully passed state doctoral examinations 🥳 Thank you to all the examiners and everyone who has helped me on this dream journey 🙏 🦅 All that's left is the dissertation. Let's do it! 💪 #AnimalBehaviour @malavika-m.bsky.social @sangeeth-sailas.bsky.social @ckecz.bsky.social

Der Erfindergeist der Tiere It is the first book by cognitive biologist Alice Auersperg (@auersperga.bsky.social), about the inventive capacity of other species. From bees to, of course, Goffin's cockatoos! Recommended for those who speak German www.brandstaetterverlag.com/buch/der-erf...

Are you my successor? The @ibisjournal.bsky.social are looking for their next social media support officer to help deliver conferences, promote #ornithology and grow engagement across social media platforms Very happy to chat more about the role, just comment 👇 or message me! ☺️ 🧪 #AcademicSky #ECR

We have an exciting new position in our lab for a PhD on parrot tool use! See below

After your tea, why not learn about what makes #woodpeckers so darned cool! Watch my brand new animated bird guide episode here youtu.be/GEQBrT-587Q?...

🔬✨ How to best introduce ourselves on 🦋? Well, with our recent papers 🤩⬇️ 🦅 Does size matter when recognizing predators? 🧐 Do magpies recognize a juvenile goshawk? 👀 No weapons, no danger? 🐞 How do #birds respond to aposematic 🐞 in their diet? #Ornithology #AnimalBehaviour #RaptorResearch 🪶🧪

1/4 Flies play In this experiment, some fruit flies preferred to ride a carousel than to eat. The behavior is consistent with the criteria for playing (voluntary, non-essential, non-typical, repeated & flexible, and stress-free) (paper) www.cell.com/current-biol... by @wolfhuette.bsky.social

🥳 My second PhD chapter is out in #AnimalCognition 🥳 🦅⚔️ What happens if a feared predator loses its dangerous weapons or swaps them for harmless ones? 🤯 This study on predator recognition will both amuse and surprise you 🤩 #Ornithology @asab.org @ethoges.bsky.social doi.org/10.1007/s100...

Do you like to dip your fries in ketchup before eating it? Our cockatoos do too! In a new study in Current Biology, we showed our cockatoos innovated a new way to flavour their food: they dunk noodles in blueberry soy yoghurt. Read about it and watch our video abstract: www.cell.com/current-biol...

🥳 We're finally on #Bluesky 💙 Hi everyone, we are a team of ethologists from the Czech Republic 🇨🇿 who study all sorts of bird behaviour 🪶mainly in the field 🗺️ Such as predator-prey interactions 🦅 brood parasitism🥚bioacoustics ♪ foraging 🌰 or competition ⚔️ #Ornithology #AnimalBehaviour #Birds