Evolution or Plasticity? What the Hermit Thrush Reveals About Climate Change
Long regarded as stable, the Hermit Thrush now reveals how environmental change can leave measurable imprints on form and function. © Mark Daly

Evolution or Plasticity? What the Hermit Thrush Reveals About Climate Change

Over four decades, a familiar North American songbird has grown smaller. But genomic evidence reveals that not all of these changes are evolutionary – some may simply reflect the remarkable plasticity of living organisms in a warming world.


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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.


Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly

Cormorants: Evolutionary Failure or Underwater Mastermind?
A Spotted Shag demonstrates the streamlined form typical of shags. The same low-drag profile that supports agile flight also contributes to the precise underwater manoeuvrability seen across the cormorant family. © Jeremiah Trimble

Cormorants: Evolutionary Failure or Underwater Mastermind?

Cormorants are often labelled evolutionary misfits for having partially wettable feathers – hardly ideal for a diving bird. Their design is far from flawed. It is a finely tuned adaptation that reveals an unexpected path in the evolution of underwater hunting.


Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly

What Do Shearwaters Eat? Uncovering a Mediterranean Food Web
The Mediterranean endemic, Yelkouan Shearwater, relies heavily on small pelagic fish such as anchovies and mackerel, linking its fortunes closely to the region’s marine food web. © Jessica Joachim

What Do Shearwaters Eat? Uncovering a Mediterranean Food Web

DNA metabarcoding and stable isotope analysis reveal how two Mediterranean shearwaters share the same prey — and what that overlap tells us about life in a changing marine ecosystem.


Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly

Fabricated Birds: AI and the Future of Ornithology
AI-generated image. A Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) in papyrus habitat. The bird depicted here does not exist – a reminder that in the age of generative imagery, realism is no longer proof of presence. Image created by Daniel Szimuly/The Ornithologist. All rights reserved.

Fabricated Birds: AI and the Future of Ornithology

When we generated a Shoebill that never existed, the realism was flawless – and unsettling. In an age where synthetic plausibility becomes effortless, ornithology must reconsider what authenticity means and how it is protected.


Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly