A Thinking Space for Ornithology

Independent, in-depth writing on bird science, global conservation, and the ideas shaping modern ornithology.

Is Woodpecker Drumming More Than Noise?
Syrian Woodpecker – Drumming is one of the most conspicuous signals in a woodpecker’s behavioural repertoire, yet its evolutionary role is often taken for granted — recognised immediately, but rarely interrogated in the way birdsong has been. © Pavel Štěpánek

Is Woodpecker Drumming More Than Noise?

Conceptual Note: This piece sits deliberately between observation and explanation: it outlines what is currently supported by evidence, then turns to the not knowing that remains — treating uncertainty not as a failure of understanding, but as a necessary part of how knowledge advances. The forgotten song Among birds, few behaviours are as immediately recognisable as the drumming of a woodpecker. Long before the bird itself is seen, the rapid, percussive burst carries
Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly
The Ornithologist Launches ‘Conceptual Notes’: Exploring the Unanswered Questions in Ornithology
Oilbirds (Steatornis caripensis), among the few birds to use echolocation. Their nocturnal world challenges the assumption that birds are primarily visual animals – a fitting emblem for a series that explores what lies beyond familiar explanatory light. © Alex Berryman

The Ornithologist Launches ‘Conceptual Notes’: Exploring the Unanswered Questions in Ornithology

The Ornithologist has launched a new editorial series titled Conceptual Notes, designed to give space to questions, uncertainties, and unresolved patterns that sit just beyond the boundaries of conventional scientific publishing. The series responds to a familiar tension in ornithology and ecology: while journals excel at reporting methods, results, and conclusions, there is far less room to discuss the moments before hypotheses solidify, or the ambiguities that persist even after d
News
Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly
How European Is the European Roller?
European Roller in Hungary — a bird still closely associated with Europe by name, even as much of its population and range now lie far beyond the continent’s western edge. © Attila Szilágyi

How European Is the European Roller?

Conceptual Note: This piece sits deliberately between observation and explanation: it outlines what is currently supported by evidence, then turns to the not knowing that remains — treating uncertainty not as a failure of understanding, but as a necessary part of how knowledge advances. The European Roller carries one of the most self-assured names in ornithology. It sounds precise, settled, geographically honest. Yet the bird it describes has always been only partly Eu
Conceptual Notes
Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly
Is Woodpecker Drumming More Than Noise?
Syrian Woodpecker – Drumming is one of the most conspicuous signals in a woodpecker’s behavioural repertoire, yet its evolutionary role is often taken for granted — recognised immediately, but rarely interrogated in the way birdsong has been. © Pavel Štěpánek

Is Woodpecker Drumming More Than Noise?

Conceptual Note: This piece sits deliberately between observation and explanation: it outlines what is currently supported by evidence, then turns to the not knowing that remains — treating uncertainty not as a failure of understanding, but as a necessary part of how knowledge advances. The forgotten song Among birds, few behaviours are as immediately recognisable as the drumming of a woodpecker. Long before the bird itself is seen, the rapid, percussive burst carries
Conceptual Notes
Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly
American Oystercatchers Take to the Rooftops: A Desperate Response to a Shrinking Coastline
An American Oystercatcher on a gravel rooftop nest shows a precarious adaptation as shrinking shorelines force birds to seek refuge above ground. © Kara Durda, Audubon Florida

American Oystercatchers Take to the Rooftops: A Desperate Response to a Shrinking Coastline

As coastal nesting habitats disappear, American Oystercatchers along Florida’s Gulf Coast are turning to gravel rooftops—an extraordinary but risky adaptation driven by urban expansion and shrinking shorelines.
Conservation
Abigail McKay

Abigail McKay

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Sound-based surveys uncover fine-scale habitat selection in the declining Crested Tit
Forest birds are often assumed to depend primarily on age and maturity, yet fine-scale structure and composition may shape habitat use long before breeding begins. © Steve Roach

Sound-based surveys uncover fine-scale habitat selection in the declining Crested Tit

New research from Finland suggests that Crested Tits respond more to fine-scale forest structure than to forest age in early spring, challenging assumptions about how habitat quality is defined in managed boreal forests.
Ecology and Behaviour
Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly
Choosing Survival: Habitat Shifts in Wintering Taiga Bean Geese
Winter landscapes can appear rich in food, yet a few degrees below zero can render familiar feeding grounds unusable. For Taiga Bean Geese, survival depends on recognising when to abandon frozen pastures and seek alternative refuges. © Lars Petersson

Choosing Survival: Habitat Shifts in Wintering Taiga Bean Geese

When frost locks grasslands out of reach, Taiga Bean Geese turn to winter cereal fields to survive. New research shows how these fields become lifelines during the coldest days of winter.
Ecology and Behaviour
Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly
Bound by Coastlines: Genetics and the Hidden Structure of Mexico’s American Oystercatchers
American Oystercatchers along the coast of north-western Mexico inhabit a landscape shaped by strong site fidelity, where breeding populations remain closely tied to specific bays and shorelines despite their ability to travel long distances.© Rain Saulnier

Bound by Coastlines: Genetics and the Hidden Structure of Mexico’s American Oystercatchers

Genetic evidence from Mexico’s coastlines reveals that American Oystercatchers are far less mobile than they appear, shaped by loyalty to place and hidden evolutionary boundaries.
Evolution and Taxonomy
Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly

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