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Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)

@drrmiller.bsky.social

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Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · Nov 25

Exciting updates from @themanybirds.bsky.social - really happy we now have our preprint from ManyBirds Study 1 available! Such a pleasure to be a Co-Founder and Project Co-Lead for the ManyBirds Project, with an amazing core and study 1 leadership team, and so many wonderful collaborators. ❤️

ManyBirds Project @themanybirds.bsky.social · Nov 25

We are delighted to announce that ManyBirds Study 1 “Evolutionary drivers of neophobia across the avian clade” is now available in pre-print: doi.org/10.31219/osf... and been submitted for peer-review publication. 1/

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Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)

PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 7h

Fear of novelty varies across species & individuals, impacting adaptability & survival. @themanybirds.bsky.social @drrmiller.bsky.social &co assess #neophobia in 1400 subjects from 136 #bird species, identifying phylogenetic influences & broad ecological drivers @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4haLEsN

Left: Examples of novel objects used. Each black/white bar is 5 cm long. The objects ranged in size from a third to half the size of the subjects: (a) Southern cassowary, Casuarius casuarius, (b) Moluccan eclectus, Eclectus roratus, (c) Rüppell’s vulture, Gyps rueppelli, (d) gray-winged trumpeter, Psophia crepitans, (e) common waxbill, Estrilda astrild. Right: Secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) at Adlerwarte Berlebeck, Germany, interacting with a novel object. Image credit Kai Caspar.

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Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)

Jimena Lois-Milevicich @jimeloism.bsky.social · 6h

It was such an incredible, enriching, and fun experience — I learned so much ❤️ So thankful to the amazing leadership team who welcomed me! @drrmiller.bsky.social @vedranaslipogor.bsky.social @nomascus.bsky.social @stephanreber.bsky.social @cds-york.bsky.social Megan Lambert & Claudia Mettke-Hofmann

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Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · 1d

So excited that our first major empirical @themanybirds.bsky.social paper is now out in @plosbiology.org!
Leading this big team science project, with our excellent core leadership team, is a labour of love for me, delighted to see our hard work over the past 4 years has reached this milestone!

ManyBirds Project @themanybirds.bsky.social · 1d

🐦 Exciting news! Our new paper is out in PLOS Biology:
“A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia.”
Led by the #ManyBirds Project - 129 researchers, 82 institutions, 24 countries 🌍
🔗 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
@themanybirds.bsky.social

A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia

Neophobia (the aversive response to novelty) varies considerably across species and individuals, and can impact adaptability and survival. This study assesses neophobia in 1400 subjects from 136 bird ...

journals.plos.org

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Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · Sep 10

Planning was not linked with theory of mind, thus thinking about one's own future may rely on a different skill set than switching perspectives. Using this under-represented sample, we show managing one's own thoughts/actions is a crucial building block for learning how to prepare for tomorrow. 6/6

Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · Sep 10

Our findings: age four seems to be a turning point, 4- and 5-year-olds outperformed 3-year-olds - consistent with Western findings, suggesting a common developmental milestone. Planning & executive functions were linked: children with stronger executive functions were better at future planning. 5/

Figure shows mean scores of children’s responses in Card in Basket task, i.e. one of the 4 future-oriented cognition tasks

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Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · Sep 10

We tested future-oriented cognition (imagining/ constructing mental representations of future & future planning), executive function (working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility) and theory of mind (understanding/ attributing mental states to others). 4/

Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · Sep 10

Most research on this topic has focused on children in Western countries. To broaden our understanding, we conducted a study with 87 3 to 5-year olds in China to see if their development followed similar patterns. 3/

Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · Sep 10

As researchers, we're fascinated by how children learn to think about the future. You might see this challenge in your own life - ever tried to convince a preschooler to bring a jacket because it might get cold later, only for them to refuse because they're warm now? 2/

Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · Sep 10

New paper just out: Rachael Miller @drrmiller.bsky.social, Ning Ding & Nicky Clayton in Cognitive Development: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... on the “Cognitive correlates of future-oriented cognition in young Chinese children”. @campsydept.bsky.social @cam.ac.uk 1/

Cognitive correlates of future-oriented cognition in young Chinese children

Future-oriented cognition, which broadly encompasses an array of cognitive processes involved in understanding, constructing, imagining and planning f…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)

ManyBirds Project @themanybirds.bsky.social · Sep 9

Stay tuned for a very exciting update coming shortly from the ManyBirds Project! Eeek!

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Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)

Ekaterina Pronizius @epronizius.bsky.social · Jul 13

Dream team: Alessandroni @drrmiller.bsky.social @dremalt.bsky.social @marinabazhydai.bsky.social @mamsmandrill.bsky.social @jespinosa.bsky.social Gjoneska @izziehb.bsky.social @valmazza.bsky.social Paukner @epronizius.bsky.social Proulx, Qadri, Reilly, Schwing ...

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Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · Jul 16

It's been a busy few weeks, with also giving a research talk at the Behaviour Discussion Group, Department of Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter in June - thank you again to @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social for hosting me! 2/2

Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · Jul 16

Really enjoyed giving an invited research talk today at the Behaviour and Evolution seminar series, Departments of Behavioural Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Theoretical Biology at Bielefeld University. Thank you @kpg13.bsky.social ‪for inviting me! 1/2

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Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)

Ekaterina Pronizius @epronizius.bsky.social · Jul 13

Check our new preprint! Our systematic review of 206 reversal learning studies shows that behavioural flexibility research is heavily biased towards birds, rodents, and humans, with most animal diversity virtually untested. #Manymanys #BigTeamScience #ComparativeCognition

PsyArXivBot @psyarxivbot.bsky.social · Jul 1

Flexible Behavior or Flexible Methods? A Cross-Taxon Review of Experimental Designs in Reversal Learning: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/mvche_v1

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Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)

Dr Blake Morton @drblakemorton.bsky.social · Apr 25

Excited to share our latest preprint, just accepted in Animal Behaviour. Congrats to @kristyadaway.bsky.social on her first first-author publication! #ECRresearch #PhDpaper @uniofhull.bsky.social 🦝🧠🧩🌎

Link to preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Wild raccoons are more innovative but not bolder than another ecological generalist, the Virginia opossum, on a pull-string task

Humans are altering natural environments at unprecedented rates. Ecological generalism is one of the strongest predictors of survival in light of these changes which, in animals, may be shaped by bold...

doi.org

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Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)

Denis REALE 🇨🇦 @denisreale.bsky.social · Apr 25

Personality-driven hunting mortality in male moose, through habitat selection.

Wildlife Biology @wildlifebiology.bsky.social · Apr 25

Living under the scope: behavior affects survival in a heavily harvested and long-lived ungulate vist.ly/3m2qsjv #Moose #Hunting #Survival #Behaviour

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Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · Apr 1

Thanks very much, Blake! Hope you're well

Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · Mar 28

Honoured to receive this @compcogsoc.bsky.social award and incredibly grateful for our community's collaboration and support, thank you!

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Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)

Comparative Cognition Society @compcogsoc.bsky.social · Mar 28

The Early Career Award Winner Featured Session starts at 11:30am! Award winner Rachael Miller @drrmiller.bsky.social will be talking about avian cognition and how it can be applied to #welfare and #conservation. #CO3_2025

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Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · Mar 28

Thanks very much for having me and for this award, very grateful! Loving this conference!

Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · Mar 25

Wow, congratulations!

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Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · Mar 18

Aw, thank you!

Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)

Ondrej Fiser @laniusondrej.bsky.social · Mar 7

🦅🧠 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

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Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · Mar 14

Hey, could I join please, Ondrej?

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Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison) @drrmiller.bsky.social · Mar 4

Excited to receive "Weighing Animal Welfare" book, edited & project led by Bob Fischer, Rethink Priorities, reporting on interdisciplinary project making interspecies welfare comparisons. Great to have contributed as a project consultant & co-author on 3 chapters. See: academic.oup.com/book/58809

Weighing Animal Welfare: Comparing Well-Being Across Species

Abstract. When, if ever, is it better to spend money to improve pig welfare over chicken welfare? Which species of fish is worst off in commercial aquacult

academic.oup.com

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