Joseph Tobias
@josephtobias.bsky.social
Birds, biodiversity, evolutionary biology, macroecology, conservation biology, ecosystem science, sustainable development, world birding, and other stuff. He/him
More at http://www.tobiaslab.net
More at http://www.tobiaslab.net
@mschleuning.bsky.social kicks off our workshop linking plant and animal traits to ecosystem-level processes, in Frankfurt today. 🪶🍁🌐
November 19, 2025 at 10:45 AM
@mschleuning.bsky.social kicks off our workshop linking plant and animal traits to ecosystem-level processes, in Frankfurt today. 🪶🍁🌐
One of the highlights of a short trip to Yunnan last week – the Spot-breasted Parrotbill: an icon for functional morphologists, an insectivore with the 'wrong' beak (stubby like a seed-eater) which nonetheless makes ecophysical sense because it uses bite-force to snip through grass/bamboo stems
November 14, 2025 at 6:38 PM
One of the highlights of a short trip to Yunnan last week – the Spot-breasted Parrotbill: an icon for functional morphologists, an insectivore with the 'wrong' beak (stubby like a seed-eater) which nonetheless makes ecophysical sense because it uses bite-force to snip through grass/bamboo stems
Absolute scenes in Yunnan when this happened today
October 31, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Absolute scenes in Yunnan when this happened today
A long and busy week ended on a high yesterday. So proud of Dr @jyang19.bsky.social for sailing through her PhD viva, the final step of a long journey in my lab from a Silwood masters degree to a doctorate. 💪
Big thanks to Profs Cris Banks-Leite and Gavin Thomas for examining.
Big thanks to Profs Cris Banks-Leite and Gavin Thomas for examining.
October 18, 2025 at 10:58 AM
A long and busy week ended on a high yesterday. So proud of Dr @jyang19.bsky.social for sailing through her PhD viva, the final step of a long journey in my lab from a Silwood masters degree to a doctorate. 💪
Big thanks to Profs Cris Banks-Leite and Gavin Thomas for examining.
Big thanks to Profs Cris Banks-Leite and Gavin Thomas for examining.
A heads-up for anyone interested in research quality, repeatability & transparency: I'm leading a 2-hour session at 10 am UK-time tomorrow, in conjunction with others.
Hopefully this can form the basis of a guidelines paper, so we're hoping you can join online to guide us in the right direction. 🌐🌎
Hopefully this can form the basis of a guidelines paper, so we're hoping you can join online to guide us in the right direction. 🌐🌎
October 14, 2025 at 4:20 PM
A heads-up for anyone interested in research quality, repeatability & transparency: I'm leading a 2-hour session at 10 am UK-time tomorrow, in conjunction with others.
Hopefully this can form the basis of a guidelines paper, so we're hoping you can join online to guide us in the right direction. 🌐🌎
Hopefully this can form the basis of a guidelines paper, so we're hoping you can join online to guide us in the right direction. 🌐🌎
Still major confusion about that one. My eBird calls them American Black Vulture and Black Vulture (not Cinereous), but BoW uses Black Vulture differently. This may be one that you can set according to your preference 😅
July 20, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Still major confusion about that one. My eBird calls them American Black Vulture and Black Vulture (not Cinereous), but BoW uses Black Vulture differently. This may be one that you can set according to your preference 😅
To complete this scintillating little set, a Beautiful Hummingbird and a Lucifer Hummingbird ... two very closely related Mexican hummers seen in Oaxaca and Mexico City, respectively.
#BirdsSeenIn2025
#BirdsSeenIn2025
July 20, 2025 at 9:04 PM
To complete this scintillating little set, a Beautiful Hummingbird and a Lucifer Hummingbird ... two very closely related Mexican hummers seen in Oaxaca and Mexico City, respectively.
#BirdsSeenIn2025
#BirdsSeenIn2025
This lil' beauty is tricky to find, at least this time of year:
Bumblebee Hummingbird in Oaxaca this morning.
Bumblebee Hummingbird in Oaxaca this morning.
June 29, 2025 at 10:05 PM
This lil' beauty is tricky to find, at least this time of year:
Bumblebee Hummingbird in Oaxaca this morning.
Bumblebee Hummingbird in Oaxaca this morning.
Finally got round to cataloguing bird images from South Africa fieldtrip in January, including Drakensberg mountains, Mpumalanga grasslands and the Flock to Marion cruise.
Now I'm missing the ocean.
Photos & trip report here: ebird.org/tripreport/3...
Now I'm missing the ocean.
Photos & trip report here: ebird.org/tripreport/3...
April 18, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Finally got round to cataloguing bird images from South Africa fieldtrip in January, including Drakensberg mountains, Mpumalanga grasslands and the Flock to Marion cruise.
Now I'm missing the ocean.
Photos & trip report here: ebird.org/tripreport/3...
Now I'm missing the ocean.
Photos & trip report here: ebird.org/tripreport/3...
Full photo-trip report here: ebird.org/tripreport/3... 2/2
April 12, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Full photo-trip report here: ebird.org/tripreport/3... 2/2
Saudi Arabia trip report online: 138 species photographed, including Saunders's Tern. Most of us had scratched this species off our lists following new information on the challenge of identifying wintering birds, so it was great fun tracking down a breeding plumage adult on the Farasans 1/2
April 12, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Saudi Arabia trip report online: 138 species photographed, including Saunders's Tern. Most of us had scratched this species off our lists following new information on the challenge of identifying wintering birds, so it was great fun tracking down a breeding plumage adult on the Farasans 1/2
Heads-up for fans of trait-based models & trophic interactions! A fresh & fruity paper led superbly by Andressa Cabral & Renske Onstein @naturalis.bsky.social investigates the role of seed-dispersing animals in shaping pantropical plant diversity.
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
April 11, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Heads-up for fans of trait-based models & trophic interactions! A fresh & fruity paper led superbly by Andressa Cabral & Renske Onstein @naturalis.bsky.social investigates the role of seed-dispersing animals in shaping pantropical plant diversity.
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
This study was led by Brian Weeks @umich.edu and based on measurements of wing bones of ~1500 passerine bird species! @sheardcat.bsky.social (4/4)
April 4, 2025 at 2:45 PM
This study was led by Brian Weeks @umich.edu and based on measurements of wing bones of ~1500 passerine bird species! @sheardcat.bsky.social (4/4)
Another unexpected angle on bird wing evolution: skeletal measurements suggest that wing bone length is shaped not only by aerodynamics of flight but also by thermoregulation (1/4)
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#macroecology #ornithology 🧪🌎🌐🪶
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#macroecology #ornithology 🧪🌎🌐🪶
April 4, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Another unexpected angle on bird wing evolution: skeletal measurements suggest that wing bone length is shaped not only by aerodynamics of flight but also by thermoregulation (1/4)
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#macroecology #ornithology 🧪🌎🌐🪶
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#macroecology #ornithology 🧪🌎🌐🪶
I assume you're not on X and I don't want to link to there, but that was exactly my response on July 13 2022:
March 21, 2025 at 6:38 PM
I assume you're not on X and I don't want to link to there, but that was exactly my response on July 13 2022:
Also, it's Friday night, so pour one out for the old days of science Twitter, where discussions of bird wings could give rise to research projects. Those days are gone. Long live science bluesky! @nomadbirder.bsky.social
March 21, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Also, it's Friday night, so pour one out for the old days of science Twitter, where discussions of bird wings could give rise to research projects. Those days are gone. Long live science bluesky! @nomadbirder.bsky.social
Forgot to add! When you upload the image you can tick one or both checkboxes: "Foraging or eating" and "Carrying food"
This helps researchers to locate relevant images.
Food-photography adds a new dimension to birding as it's a fun challenge getting shots of any species carrying food.
This helps researchers to locate relevant images.
Food-photography adds a new dimension to birding as it's a fun challenge getting shots of any species carrying food.
March 18, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Forgot to add! When you upload the image you can tick one or both checkboxes: "Foraging or eating" and "Carrying food"
This helps researchers to locate relevant images.
Food-photography adds a new dimension to birding as it's a fun challenge getting shots of any species carrying food.
This helps researchers to locate relevant images.
Food-photography adds a new dimension to birding as it's a fun challenge getting shots of any species carrying food.
A call to arms for eBirders and iNaturalists. 🚨
We want your bird photos! If you photograph feeding birds with flowers, fruit, seeds or prey, upload the image with locality details. We are data-harvesting species, size and type of food/prey to study foodwebs and species interactions. Thanks! 🧪🌐🪶
We want your bird photos! If you photograph feeding birds with flowers, fruit, seeds or prey, upload the image with locality details. We are data-harvesting species, size and type of food/prey to study foodwebs and species interactions. Thanks! 🧪🌐🪶
March 18, 2025 at 12:51 PM
A call to arms for eBirders and iNaturalists. 🚨
We want your bird photos! If you photograph feeding birds with flowers, fruit, seeds or prey, upload the image with locality details. We are data-harvesting species, size and type of food/prey to study foodwebs and species interactions. Thanks! 🧪🌐🪶
We want your bird photos! If you photograph feeding birds with flowers, fruit, seeds or prey, upload the image with locality details. We are data-harvesting species, size and type of food/prey to study foodwebs and species interactions. Thanks! 🧪🌐🪶
Travelled to the Sarawat Mountains last week to find the Arabian Magpie (aka Asir Magpie, currently the only bird species 100% endemic to Saudi Arabia), in the hope of breaking the Geordie curse and bringing us cup final glory. It worked! #nufc 🖤🤍
March 17, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Travelled to the Sarawat Mountains last week to find the Arabian Magpie (aka Asir Magpie, currently the only bird species 100% endemic to Saudi Arabia), in the hope of breaking the Geordie curse and bringing us cup final glory. It worked! #nufc 🖤🤍
Finally got to spend some quality time with a flock of Hypocolius yesterday near Riyadh. Fantastic birds.
March 14, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Finally got to spend some quality time with a flock of Hypocolius yesterday near Riyadh. Fantastic birds.
My eagle pics not great, but I think I prefer the eye level views. Satisfying day out after dipping at Henley! 👍
January 14, 2025 at 5:53 PM
My eagle pics not great, but I think I prefer the eye level views. Satisfying day out after dipping at Henley! 👍
Flashback to New Years Day 2008, photographing Lulu's Tody-tyrant, as this stunning little gem used to be called.
Happy New Year to all who love nature - may 2025 bring you big vistas and lucky sightings. 🪶
Happy New Year to all who love nature - may 2025 bring you big vistas and lucky sightings. 🪶
January 1, 2025 at 5:43 PM
Flashback to New Years Day 2008, photographing Lulu's Tody-tyrant, as this stunning little gem used to be called.
Happy New Year to all who love nature - may 2025 bring you big vistas and lucky sightings. 🪶
Happy New Year to all who love nature - may 2025 bring you big vistas and lucky sightings. 🪶
One last festive-season puffbird to ennoble the timeline: a dinky Fulvous-chinned Nunlet.
Finding this rare gem along a rainforest trail in a remote corner of Pando is one of my best-ever puffbird moments. 🙏
Finding this rare gem along a rainforest trail in a remote corner of Pando is one of my best-ever puffbird moments. 🙏
December 29, 2024 at 5:58 PM
One last festive-season puffbird to ennoble the timeline: a dinky Fulvous-chinned Nunlet.
Finding this rare gem along a rainforest trail in a remote corner of Pando is one of my best-ever puffbird moments. 🙏
Finding this rare gem along a rainforest trail in a remote corner of Pando is one of my best-ever puffbird moments. 🙏
Every now and then the Birds of the World homepage causes an actual gasp. Today's pic of broad-billed skimmer, for example 🤯
December 27, 2024 at 2:24 PM
Every now and then the Birds of the World homepage causes an actual gasp. Today's pic of broad-billed skimmer, for example 🤯
A different flavour of puffbird, the Black-faced Nunbird. This one part of a tightly bonded cooperative group that used to hunt insects by my cabin at Los Amigos Research Station in Peru. Always a chill guy.
December 23, 2024 at 7:40 PM
A different flavour of puffbird, the Black-faced Nunbird. This one part of a tightly bonded cooperative group that used to hunt insects by my cabin at Los Amigos Research Station in Peru. Always a chill guy.