News from Our Journals
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Journal Update | Journal of Avian Biology launches a new article type
To help launch our new article type, ‘Methods and Tools’, we have put together a Virtual Issue of method-focused Research Articles or Short Communications that have been published in the journal during the last three years.
Study | Familiar Faces Matter for Black Rhinos
A new study of nearly 70,000 sightings reveals that black rhinos, despite being considered solitary, form long-term associations with familiar individuals. These relationships may help reduce aggression, but social interactions can also carry survival costs—especially for calves.
Editor’s Choice | Citizen Science Reveals Hidden Migration Timelines
The editor’s choice for our May issue is “Climatic variation affects seasonal survival of an alpine bird species” by Mckinlay et al.
Study | Counting deer from the sky: drones in steep terrain
For species like red deer (Cervus elaphus), obtaining precise and accurate population estimates is essential. Traditional survey methods often struggle; therefore we explored how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be used to estimate absolute population density of red deer in such challenging environments.
Study | Targeting Conservation for First Migrations
Throughout the world, each spring and fall, billions of birds migrate. But, due to a multitude of threats and stressors, populations of avian migrants have declined widely and are now the focus of widespread conservation action.
Study | Balancing moult, migration, and breeding in a long-lived partial migrant raptor
Balancing moult, migration, and breeding is not simply a matter of distance travelled. It is the outcome of a complex energetic compromise shaped by climate, life stage, and reproductive demands.
Study | The small hosting the small in Antarctica
In the tiny ice-free areas of Antarctica, carpets of mosses, lichens, and algae form miniature forests. These patches host Antarctica’s terrestrial animals: billions of mites and springtails.
Editor’s Choice | Environmental predictability and mule deer movement
The editor’s choice for our January/February issue is the article by Stranden et al. (2025): “Differential effects of environmental predictability on ungulate movement behavior in disparate ecosystems.”
*Study | The importance of snow cover (and elevation) on nest-box use in an alpine bird
Living at high elevations means having to cope with extreme and unpredictable conditions. It also means that evolution has shaped for you a special relationship with snow.
Forum | Sources of confusion in global biodiversity trends
Sounds counterintuitive: if we want to mitigate global loss of biodiversity, we should take a hard look at research that seems to contradict biodiversity loss.
*Editor’s Choice | Ecology of swift foxes in a novel landscape beyond their range
The editor’s choice for November/December 2025 is the article by Smith et al.: “Heading west: Ecology of swift foxes in a novel landscape beyond their range.”
*Study | Gulls promote multi-species colonies as they leave former refuges
The yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) is often considered an over-abundant pest species, stemming from a belief that is not entirely correct.
Call for Papers | Special issue “Tundra Transitions”
Due by 30 Nov 2025: NJB invites abstract submissions to the special issue “Tundra Transitions: Understanding Vegetation Change Across Scales and Systems.”
*Study | Brood awakening: how red kites weigh risk like feathered economists
Parental care is a balancing act — parents must protect their young while minimizing risks to themselves, to ensure current, but also future reproductive success.
*Editor’s Choice | Climatic variation affects seasonal survival of an alpine bird species
The editor’s choice for July/August 2025 is the article by Eriksen et al.: “Climatic variation affects seasonal survival of an alpine bird species”
*Study | Overcoming technological constraints in the tracking of small, elusive birds
Advances in GPS and biologging technology have greatly enhanced our understanding of wildlife ecology, providing valuable data on movement, habitat use, behaviour, and biological rhythms.
*Study | Mechanisms matching timing to resources: comparisons of closely related seasonally sympatric, migratory and non-migratory populations
The climate is warming, and many bird species are keeping up by altering when they migrate, breed, and molt, that is, by altering their phenology. To make accurate predictions about future responses to climate warming, knowledge of the mechanisms regulating timing is needed.
*Study | Radar revelations: insect availability influences parental provisioning in breeding tree swallows
While tree swallows have been the focal species in hundreds of studies, little is known about their high elevation populations. Simons et al. addressed this gap by researching a breeding population of swallows at Colorado State University’s Mountain Campus.
*Study | Benign, and currently sustainable, forms of shellfish-harvesting in the Bijagós Archipélago, Guinea-Bissau
This study explored shellfishing patterns across different management regimes, assessed seasonal variation in the direct impact of shellfishing on shorebirds, and quantified the indirect impact of sediment disturbance due to shellfishing upon shorebird prey availability.
Study | Variation in physiological indicators among forest birds
Before we can assess the impact of environmental factors on bird communities, it is crucial to first understand natural variation in physiological indicators.