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Reposted by Jimena Lois-Milevicich

Tay (Antonio J. Osuna Mascaró) @biotay.bsky.social · 7h

Neophobia compared in 1,439 birds of 136 species

Specialised diets and migration are associated with greater fear of new objects. Surprisingly, witnessing such objects in groups is also associated with greater fear.

(paper) journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
(blog) phys.org/news/2025-10...

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Reposted by Jimena Lois-Milevicich

PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 9h

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 Jimena Lois-Milevicich

PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 12h

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

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Jimena Lois-Milevicich @jimeloism.bsky.social · 11h

Special thanks to my on-site team: @raulogomez-uba.bsky.social @jcr55.bsky.social Alicia de la Colina, Florencia Foitzick, Nínive Paes Cavalcante & Sebastián M. Santiago; and to the the supporting institutions: EGE-FCEN-UBA, IEGEBA-CONICET, Aves Argentinas, Agencia I+D+i, Fundación Temaikèn 🥰

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Jimena Lois-Milevicich @jimeloism.bsky.social · 11h

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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Jimena Lois-Milevicich @jimeloism.bsky.social · 11h

The first empirical paper from @themanybirds.bsky.social is out in @PLOSBiology! 🎉 doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Thanks to our amazing collaborators, we tested neophobia in 130+ species across 25 taxonomic orders!🕊️🦜🐓🦚🦉🦆🐦🐧🦅

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 ...

doi.org

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Reposted by Jimena Lois-Milevicich

ManyBirds Project @themanybirds.bsky.social · 1d

Big thank you to our ManyBirds core leadership team: @drrmiller.bsky.social, Megan Lambert, @vedranaslipogor.bsky.social, @nomascus.bsky.social, @jimeloism.bsky.social, Carl Soulsbury, @stephanreber.bsky.social, Claudia Mettke-Hofmann - and to all of our collaborators!

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Reposted by Jimena Lois-Milevicich

ManyBirds Project @themanybirds.bsky.social · 1d

The #ManyBirds Project shows how big team open science approaches can uncover hidden patterns in animal behaviour and evolution, complementing critical in-depth single-lab work.
Huge thanks to everyone involved across six continents 🌍💛 More info & how to join future studies: 👉 www.themanybirds.com

Home - Many Birds Projects

A Big-Team Open Science approach to avian cognition and behaviour research.

www.themanybirds.com

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Reposted by Jimena Lois-Milevicich

ManyBirds Project @themanybirds.bsky.social · 1d

Birds tested in groups were more neophobic than those tested alone - likely waiting for others to take the risk first!
And individuals showed consistent behaviour over time, suggesting neophobia is a stable behavioural trait.

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Reposted by Jimena Lois-Milevicich

ManyBirds Project @themanybirds.bsky.social · 1d

Two main ecological factors predicted neophobia:
🥗 Dietary specialisation – species with narrower diets were more fearful.
🧭 Migratory behaviour – migratory species were more cautious.
➡️ Supporting both the Neophobia Threshold & Dangerous Niche Hypotheses.

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Reposted by Jimena Lois-Milevicich

ManyBirds Project @themanybirds.bsky.social · 1d

Across 1,439 birds from 136 species and 25 avian orders, we used standardised tests:
familiar food was presented with and without a novel object.
⏱️ Longer hesitation = higher neophobia.
Flamingos were cautious, falcons bold - big differences across species!
(Photo credit: @jimeloism.bsky.social)

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Reposted by Jimena Lois-Milevicich

ManyBirds Project @themanybirds.bsky.social · 1d

Neophobia - the fear of novelty - shapes how animals balance risk and opportunity.
Too much caution can limit flexibility, but too little can be dangerous.
We asked: why do some bird species fear new things more than others? 🐧🦅

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Reposted by Jimena Lois-Milevicich

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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Jimena Lois-Milevicich @jimeloism.bsky.social · Mar 14

I didn't know. Great, thank you!! What an honor ☺️

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Reposted by Jimena Lois-Milevicich

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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Jimena Lois-Milevicich @jimeloism.bsky.social · Mar 13

Hi Ondrej, I would like to be added please. Thank you!

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Reposted by Jimena Lois-Milevicich

Nora Bär @norabar.bsky.social · Feb 11

¡Buen martes! Hoy 🌨️🌩️⛈️ 26 de máx.
Cientificidio: si se cumple lo dispuesto en el Presupuesto 2025 y las expectativas de inflación, la inversión en ciencia nunca habrá sido tan baja: será la menor desde que empezó a medirse, en 1972👇
www.eldestapeweb.com/sociedad/pol...

La inversión en ciencia y tecnología caería este año a su mínimo histórico

Un trabajo del grupo EPC la estima en un 0,157% del PBI, el menor porcentaje desde que se mide, en 1972; en 2002 fue del 0,17%

www.eldestapeweb.com

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Reposted by Jimena Lois-Milevicich

GamarnikLab @gamarniklab.bsky.social · Feb 11

Fijate esto: el organismo que financia la ciencia en nuestro país recibió los fondos del BID pero no los entregó. El concurso se abrió en diciembre de 2023, ya se prorrogó 6 veces.
HOY, 11 de febrero sale NUEVA prórroga
Decime vos, si esto no es desmantelar al sistema,
que es?

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Reposted by Jimena Lois-Milevicich

Alice Auersperg @auersperga.bsky.social · Feb 10

Our new study with @zewaldj.bsky.social on innovative food preparation in Goffins cockatoos just appeared in Current Biology: our results suggest that Goffins dunk noodles in selective yogurt mixtures to add flavour
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Innovative flavoring behavior in Goffin’s cockatoos

Dunking behavior can be a foraging innovation in non-human animals in which food is dipped in a medium prior to consumption.1 Five functions of this b…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Jimena Lois-Milevicich @jimeloism.bsky.social · Jan 29

New blog entry about the awesome plush-crested jays 😍 nplus1.ru/news/2025/01... Thank you @nplusodin.bsky.social Link to the paper: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Плюшеголовые сойки не сумели воспользоваться инструментом

N + 1 — главное издание о науке, технике и технологиях

nplus1.ru

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Reposted by Jimena Lois-Milevicich

Raul Orencio Gomez @raulogomez-uba.bsky.social · Dec 30

Mechanical problem solving by plush-crested #jays with @jimeloism.bsky.social
dx.doi.org/10.1007/s100...

Mechanical problem solving by plush-crested jays: are tools special after all? - Animal Cognition

Tool use is taxonomically associated with high behavioural flexibility and innovativeness, and its prevalence is greater in primates and some bird species. This association, however, is not known to b...

dx.doi.org

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Jimena Lois-Milevicich @jimeloism.bsky.social · Dec 21

Hi Drew, I would like to be added please. Thanks!

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Jimena Lois-Milevicich @jimeloism.bsky.social · Dec 21

@raulogomez-uba.bsky.social bienvenido a @bsky.app

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Jimena Lois-Milevicich @jimeloism.bsky.social · Dec 7

A las urracas sobre todo! jaja

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Jimena Lois-Milevicich @jimeloism.bsky.social · Dec 7

Thank you for preparing this! I hope to study them more 🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛

Tay (Antonio J. Osuna Mascaró) @biotay.bsky.social · Dec 7

1/4 Intelligence without tool-using capabilities

There has been much debate about whether tool use in nature is the result of advanced general cognition or whether it is due to particular adaptations.

(paper) https://buff.ly/4f1M6XP by @jimeloism.bsky.social

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