Avian Research Association of Austria. Our aim is to bring together avian researchers to improve the exchange of ideas, increase knowledge, and promote mentorship throughout Austria. If you're a member, DM us your new papers or positions to share.
Some heartening news. Really great initiative! www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Indigenous-led conservation helps save endangered cockatooAn Indigenous community in Indonesia has found a way to protect one of the world's rarest cockatoos without abandoning a centuries-old sacred tradition, offering a new model for conservation. ...www.eurekalert.org#HotOffThePress 🔥🖊️ “Ravens (Corvus corax) use conspecifics and heterospecifics to navigate risky foraging scenarios”🐦⬛ July 2026. Behavioral Ecology. @silviadamini.bsky.social, A. Lindeman , @awanib.bsky.social, @pesumas.bsky.social & T. Bugnyar doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10290-0
Subtle differences in family size mediate object play in young ravens (Corvus corax) - Communications BiologyThe social environment at upbringing influences offspring’s social experience and competence development across species. In ravens, even minor differences in family size affect juveniles’ opportunitie...doi.orgThe European Central Bank is redesigning the Euro banknotes and has a shortlist of 10 designs, 5 of which are bird themed! Now they're running a public survey to help them decide on the winner. If you're of the correct opinion that birds absolutely should be on our money, go vote for the birdies:
surveys.ecb.europa.eu#HotOffThePress 🔥🖊️ “Subtle differences in family size mediate object play in young ravens (Corvus corax)”🐦⬛🪀 July 2026. Communications Biology. P.H. Boucherie, @valentine-comin.bsky.social & T. Bugnyar doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10290-0
Subtle differences in family size mediate object play in young ravens (Corvus corax) - Communications BiologyThe social environment at upbringing influences offspring’s social experience and competence development across species. In ravens, even minor differences in family size affect juveniles’ opportunitie...doi.org2nd European Bird Song Network Meeting Austria 2026, Nov 2-4 More info here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#HotOffThePress 🔥🖊️ “Communal Use of Dust-Bathing Sites by Galápagos Short-Eared Owls (Asio flammeus galapagoensis) in Fine Volcanic Soils.”🦉🌋 July 2026. Journal of Raptor Research. @pesumas.bsky.social, @johannes-ploderer.bsky.social, @josueatyoshi.bsky.social, S. Kleindorfer & S.C. Sumasgutner
doi.orgGreat news everyone! #Behaviour2027 will be at UniWien. How awesome we get to have such a big conference locally, I highly recommend that everyone attends.
Behaviour 2027We are excited to announce that #Behaviour2027 (XXXIX International Ethological Congress) will be taking place in Vienna, Austria! We are looking forward to having you all join us next year from August 23-27. Please follow and share!
#HotOffThePress 🔥🖊️ “Do animals treat their minds? From wild stories to lab-built realities.” 🧠 May 2026. Journal of Comparative Psychology. @auersperga.bsky.social doi.org/10.1037/com0...
APA PsycNetdoi.org#HotOffThePress 🔥🖊️ "Animal empathy reconsidered: A multidimensional profile account“ 🐀🦍🐕🐦⬛ June 2026. Biological Reviews. Albert Newen, Maja Griem, Ludwig Huber, Thomas Bugnyar, @aaronblaisdell.bsky.social, Simone Pika doi.org/10.1002/brv....
Animal empathy reconsidered: a multidimensional profile accountEmpathy is the glue that holds societies together and yet several fundamental questions about empathy persist. What is empathy (the definitional question)? Is it uniquely human and, if not, which non....doi.org#HotOffThePress 🔥🖊️ "Humans but not Budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) Consistently Prefer Sounds with Clear Harmonic Spectra“ 🎶🦜 June 2026. Music Perception. Oliver Tab Bellmann, Melina Witt, Bernhard Wagner, Marisa Hoeschele doi.org/10.1525/mp.2...
Humans but not Budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) Consistently Prefer Sounds with Clear Harmonic SpectraComparing parallels between species that share music-like abilities with humans can illuminate and reveal selective pressures that shaped the origins of music. For instance, human vocalizations featur...doi.orgARAA’s very own @poppylambert.bsky.social is hosting a new podcast! 👏🏻😍 Make sure you have a listen, we’re all so proud 🤩
SEBiologyLiving Biology 🎧 is here! A new SEB #Podcast from the Society for Experimental Biology (@sebiology.bsky.social) exploring the people and ideas behind experimental biology. 🚨 Launch special: 2 episodes available now Listen here: www.sebiology.org/ressources/s...
#HotOffThePress 🔥🖊️ "Sensitivity to permanent non-functionality in Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana)“ June 2026. Scientific Reports. @biotay.bsky.social, Eleonora Rovegno, @susanamonso.com, Remco Folkertsma & @auersperga.bsky.social doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Sensitivity to permanent non-functionality in Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana) - Scientific ReportsScientific Reports - Sensitivity to permanent non-functionality in Goffin’s cockatoos (Cacatua goffiniana)doi.org#HotOffThePress 🔥🖊️ "Investigating the structure of the greylag goose vocal repertoire: what can unsupervised methods tell us?“ 🪿 June 2026. Scientific Reports. @lenagies.bsky.social, Jonas Lesigang, Sonia Kleindorfer & @tecumsehfitch.bsky.social doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Investigating the structure of the greylag goose vocal repertoire: what can unsupervised methods tell us? - Scientific ReportsScientific Reports - Investigating the structure of the greylag goose vocal repertoire: what can unsupervised methods tell us?doi.org#HotOffThePress 🔥🖊️ "Fluctuations in direct human presence, not predictable weekly cycles, influence avoidance behaviour in ravens"🐦⬛ June 2026. Movement Ecology. @varalikajain.bsky.social, @matthiasloretto.bsky.social, Thomas Bugnyar & @pesumas.bsky.social doi.org/10.1186/s404...
Fluctuations in direct human presence, not predictable weekly cycles, influence avoidance behaviour in ravens - Movement EcologyBackground Rhythms in human activity create patterns of opportunities and disturbances for wildlife, influencing their behaviour and spatial ecology. The weekend effect hypothesis posits that weekday-weekend routines in human activity can impact wildlife in creating cyclic conditions. At our study site – an outdoor wildlife park – free-flying ravens opportunistically exploit food intended for captive animals on a routine basis. While disturbances from visitor activity levels are typically low on weekdays and high on weekends, they can also vary day-to-day. Our access to data detailing visitor numbers makes our context well-suited to test whether ravens anticipate and respond to predictable weekday-weekend patterns following (1) a ‘5 + 2’ structure, or if they respond (2) flexibly to fluctuations in direct human activity levels. By testing the weekend effect hypothesis from the perspective of a ‘5 + 2’ pattern versus flexibly responding to fluctuations in human activity, we better understand wildlife response strategies to human activity. Methods Using long-term GPS tracking data, we investigated the weekend effect hypothesis by examining raven foraging probability and space use across two temporal scales: (1) daily patterns over five years, encompassing periods of Covid-19 pandemic-related restrictions, and (2) bihourly patterns over six weeks. We hypothesized that increased human activity levels would result in lower foraging probabilities and higher space use in ravens, varying between weekdays and weekends. Results Our findings provided limited support for the weekend effect hypothesis, considering a ‘5 + 2’ pattern in human activity. However, ravens consistently avoided elevated human activity by decreasing in their probability of foraging at the site and increasing space use on a daily level. Conclusions Our study reveals that ravens are behaviourally flexible in their movement responses to disturbance when exploiting anthropogenically created foraging opportunities. Changes influencing anthropogenic resources and disturbances at resources should consider the potential knock-on effects to wildlife.doi.org#HotOffThePress 🔥🖊️ "Interacting effects of human presence and landscape modification on birds and mammals" 🌏 May 2026. Science. Oliver R. Y. et al.* *92 authors (!) including Austria's own @matthiasloretto.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Interacting effects of human presence and landscape modification on birds and mammalsSustainable human–wildlife coexistence requires a mechanistic understanding of the many ways that humans affect animals. However, progress is hampered by the lack of accessible data measuring the dyna...www.science.org