ANU Superb Fairywren Project
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fairywrensanu.bsky.social
ANU Superb Fairywren Project
@fairywrensanu.bsky.social
Long-term study of superb fairywrens in the Australian National Botanic Gardens by researchers at the Australian National University #superbfairywren #SFW_ANU
Pinned
In today's lab meeting we updated @damienfarine.bsky.social's website with a project overview and also added our finalised logo!
Check it out here: sites.google.com/site/drfarin...

Logo design by @franhckr.bsky.social
Reposted by ANU Superb Fairywren Project
📢NEW paper out NOW in @asab.org Animal Behaviour on how a novel #call changes subsequent responses to #alarms in #fairywrens

🌟CONGRATULATIONS #NatalieTegtman on #first paper from #PhD
👥With #RobMagrath

@bristolbiosci.bsky.social
#animalcommunication #birds #fieldwork #ECR

doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
November 24, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by ANU Superb Fairywren Project
Trapped between darkness and heat: desert birds (Argya squamiceps) initiate daily activity earlier (and terminate it later) in response to heat | royalsocietypublishi... | Proceedings of the Royal Society B | #ornithology 🪶
November 19, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Reposted by ANU Superb Fairywren Project
Ecological Constraints Alone Cannot Explain Delayed Dispersal in Splendid Fairywrens | doi.org/10.1093/behe... | Behavioral Ecology | #ornithology 🪶
November 20, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by our posters! Both sessions were very successful and we had some really interesting discussions. Always great to see so much fairywren love 🐦 #AOC2025 #SFW_ANU @sramellini.bsky.social @franhckr.bsky.social
November 20, 2025 at 6:06 AM
#AOC2025 has started! A great morning including bird walks and an interesting plenary on female colour and song. If you're keen on project updates, attend @sramellini.bsky.social's talk at 14:00 and @franhckr.bsky.social's talk at 14:45 (same session). Also, stop by our posters today and tomorrow!
November 18, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Reposted by ANU Superb Fairywren Project
Ornamentation is associated with social costs in male red-backed fairywrens (Malurus melanocephalus) | doi.org/10.1093/behe... | Behavioral Ecology | #ornithology 🪶
November 4, 2025 at 5:59 PM
#CIO2025 (Italian Conference of Ornithology) is now finished! @sramellini.bsky.social organised a symposium on the overlooked non-breeding season and presented his results on the territorial stability of superb fairywrens. He won 'Highly Commended' for his presentation, congrats!
September 30, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Today's fieldwork assistant was very keen to check the temperature data we are collecting 🐦‍⬛☀️ #SFW_ANU #birds #ecology #ornithology
August 22, 2025 at 2:19 AM
One of our project member's first PhD paper is now out!! Congratulations 🎉
August 18, 2025 at 7:11 AM
On Tuesday, @sramellini.bsky.social spoke to ABC Radio Canberra Drive about superb fairywrens and the #SFW_ANU project. If you missed it, you can listen to it here (from minute 07:50): www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
Drive - ABC listen
The lively debate and stories that have shaped Canberra today.
www.abc.net.au
July 31, 2025 at 2:06 AM
In today's lab meeting we updated @damienfarine.bsky.social's website with a project overview and also added our finalised logo!
Check it out here: sites.google.com/site/drfarin...

Logo design by @franhckr.bsky.social
July 24, 2025 at 6:24 AM
Christmas in the Northern hemisphere means snow and pine trees, here in Canberra we have king parrot baubles for #ChristmasinJuly 🎄
July 3, 2025 at 6:02 AM
Earlier this season we said goodbye to GBB. Born in 2014, she was one of the oldest and most productive females in our population:
35 nests, 80 eggs, 47 chicks fledged, 35 reached independence, 24 grandkids. This female below has now taken over her territory. Big 🐾 to fill!
#SFW_ANU #birds #ecology
June 24, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Greeted by a stunning sunrise this morning as @franhckr.bsky.social and @sramellini.bsky.social brave the cold at the gardens ❄️ Trying to catch the last few unbanded individuals in our population and helping colleagues with some thornbill research 🐦‍⬛
#SFW_ANU #ecology #ornithology #birds
June 19, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Reposted by ANU Superb Fairywren Project
Just out in Biological Reviews!
My new paper highlights intergroup peace in primates: tolerance, affiliation, group mergers etc. We propose a new framework for understanding these interactions, with insights into the roots of human cooperation.

📖 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Close encounters of the friendly kind: pacific between‐group interactions in primates
While intergroup conflict features prominently in the behavioural ecology literature, its antonym, intergroup peace, has been a rather neglected phenomenon until recently. Neighbourly relations and a....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
June 17, 2025 at 9:39 AM
One of the (many) aims of our project is to understand what animals do outside the breeding season. In a new editorial in ALULA, @sramellini.bsky.social highlights some examples of how local, field-based research can help bridge this major knowledge gap.
Read it here: doi.org/10.60990/alu...
June 17, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Reposted by ANU Superb Fairywren Project
Interested in Postdoc Research here in Oxford? Many projects possible using long-term population studies of birds, field & lab experiments with insect consumers, phenology of trees all in Wytham woods & based in new Biology building
marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/calls/msca-p...
June 16, 2025 at 9:01 AM
#ASSAB2025 finished this afternoon with an announcement that we will meet in Adelaide next year, how exciting! Even more exciting, @sramellini.bsky.social won 'Highly Commended' for his presentation on the multilevel society of superb fairywrens, congrats! 🎉 #SFW_ANU @animbehav.bsky.social
June 13, 2025 at 6:46 AM
Reposted by ANU Superb Fairywren Project
🌟CONGRATULATIONS🌟 to You Zhou of @scienceanu.bsky.social on the publishing of her 2nd #PhD chapter in @asab.org Animal Behaviour. All about temporal #masking in the beautiful superb fairywrens.
#noise #fieldwork #playbacks
With Rob Magrath.
@bristolbiosci.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
June 12, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Day 2 of the #ASSAB2025 conference has just begun! Don't forget to attend our two talks today for #SFW_ANU project updates:
11:15 @sramellini.bsky.social on the fairywrens' multilevel society
15:45 @franhckr.bsky.social on fairywren foraging behaviour
@animbehav.bsky.social
June 11, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Day 1 of the #ASSAB2025 conference opened with an incredible plenary! Join us tomorrow for #SFW_ANU project updates. At 11:15 @sramellini.bsky.social will talk about their multilevel society, and
@franhckr.bsky.social will talk about their foraging behaviour at 15:45!
@animbehav.bsky.social
June 11, 2025 at 12:43 AM
An unfortunate yet fascinating encounter during yesterday's fieldwork: a sparrowhawk catches one of our fairywrens as we're following a group to collect social data 😦🦅
#birds #ecology #predation #ornithology #SFW_ANU @franhckr.bsky.social @sramellini.bsky.social
June 3, 2025 at 6:07 AM
With the cold weather and brown males the non-breeding season is officially upon us! 🐦 Our fieldwork now focuses on their sociality and foraging 🍿 #ecology #birds #ornithology #SFW_ANU @sramellini.bsky.social @franhckr.bsky.social
May 23, 2025 at 6:24 AM
When you go to collect data but the data doesn't let you write it down ✍🏻🐦😆
#bird #ecology #ornithology #SFW_ANU
@sramellini.bsky.social @franhckr.bsky.social
@scienceanu.bsky.social
February 21, 2025 at 1:54 AM