World Sparrow Day

Interesting patterns emerged:
• Redwings had significantly more plastics than Song Thrushes
• Juveniles > adults in microplastic loads

Our results show thrushes can act as indicators of terrestrial microplastic pollution, even in wintering areas.

We analysed digestive tracts of:
🐦 Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)
🐦 Redwing (Turdus iliacus)

From 32 birds we recovered 326 microplastics.

Most particles were:
🔹 fibres (44%)
🔹 films (36%)
🔹 fragments (20%)

Blue, red, and black plastics dominated.

Wintering Thrushes as Microplastic Pollution Sentinels in the Ground-Foraging Guild of Mediterranean Olive Plantations - Water, Air, & Soil Pollution Plastic pollution is a growing global environmental problem, and evidence shows that many wildlife species ingest plastic. In terrestrial environments, thrushes are indicators of microplastics polluti...

🥤Plastic pollution is everywhere...
even in terrestrial birds🐦

In our new study from Mediterranean olive orchards in Spain, we found microplastics in 100% of wintering thrushes examined. 🧵👇

📄: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

#Microplastics #PlasticPollution #BirdEcology #Ecotoxicology

Fig. 1 from the article: Illustration of the two main wing muscles – pectoralis and supracoracoideus – of a migratory passerine.

Fig. 4 from the article: Representation of the diverse ways in which myokines can influence the function of different organs throughout the body.

Fig. 5 from the article: (A) Conceptualization of a behavioral control system, as outlined by Fuxjager et al. (2023). Behavioral control systems are shown through the lens of spring (B) and autumn (C) migrations, with skeletal muscle (dark red) playing a role in the regulation of physiological systems that all promote one singular behavioral node (migration, dark orange) at the expense of others (dimmed behavioral nodes).

New paper: a review of how skeletal muscles support long-distance bird migration, highlighting their plasticity, coordination via endocrine signals, and interactions with other organ systems.

➡️ vist.ly/4sdqf

#ornithology #birds #migration #physiology #signals #adaptation #evolution

Great tit. Photo: Sławek Staszczuk, Wikimedia commons.

Fig. 2 from the article: association between return latency of the parent birds and the level of methylation (%) of six CpG sites.

New paper: in urban great tits, epigenetic changes in the DRD4 gene help explain tolerance to human disturbance, influencing vigilance and return behavior after disruption

➡️ vist.ly/4qssv

#ornithology #birds #urbanization #epigenetics #behaviour

NEW on #theBOUblog from Fabio Marcolin

Are parrots filling ecological niche space?: How non-native parrots become established in urban bird communities

bou.org.uk/blog-marc...

Based on this IBIS paper doi.org/10.1111/ibi....

#ornithology 🪶

The constrained evolution of a hybrid species, the Italian Sparrow Unraveling the complex interplay between standing genetic variation and genetic incompatibilities.

Your daily Avian Hybrids story!

The constrained evolution of a hybrid species, the Italian Sparrow
avianhybrids.wordpress.com/2021/11/27/t...

#ornithology

New paper out! 🐦📊

We realease AVONICHE, a global dataset with detailed information on the proportional use of 32 foraging niches, combining dietary categories with the behaviours and substrates used to access resources.

Openly access the paper and data in GEB: doi.org/10.1111/geb....

Bernat-Ponce et al. (2026) From pardal to etxe-txolarrea: An integrative
review of the house sparrow Passer domesticus knowledge in the Iberian Peninsula - Animal Biodiversity and Conservation doi.org/10.32800/abc...

Mira @alvaroluna87.bsky.social

For a seed to be dispersed during a migratory flight, the 🍒 must be eaten close to sunset, since thrushes migrate at night. That is feasible according to ingestion times. Moreover, data from our feeding experiments in captivity indicate that a song thrush can eat up to 113 fruits/day (mean 54)!

📢 NEW PAPER OUT!

Excited to share our review on Iberian House Sparrows, bringing together decades of research and setting the stage for a more integrated understanding of the species in the region.

Big thanks to all contributors for their dedication & teamwork!

doi.org/10.32800/abc...

📌 We highlight key knowledge gaps and call for coordinated, large-scale monitoring to better understand the future of this iconic species.

Read the full open-access article:
Animal Biodiversity and Conservation 48(1)

@alvaroluna87.bsky.social @macgregorfors.bsky.social

🔍 What we found:
• 114 peer-reviewed studies since the 1980s
• Research heavily focused on health, biology & behaviour
• Very little work on conservation, even as local declines emerge
• Major geographic gaps
• Urbanization, changing agriculture, and human activity shape sparrow trends

🔑Keywords

Despite being one of the most familiar birds in our towns and farmlands, and one of the most studied worldwide, no integrative synthesis existed for Iberia… until now.

🗺️Map depicting the number of house sparrow studies in the Iberian Peninsula.

Just published! 🐦📄

Our new review “From pardal to etxe-txolarrea” brings together 40 years of scientific research on the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) in the Iberian Peninsula.

doi.org/10.32800/abc...

📝Number of accumulated peer-reviewed articles in the Iberian Peninsula

📢 Thrilled to share our new paper 🌍

We found synthetic debris in nearly 1/4 of Eurasian otter spraints examined across five European countries, revealing how plastics infiltrate freshwater ecosystems.

Link: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#plasticpollution

Nuevo grupo de trabajo AEET

Se constituye el grupo de Trabajo sobre Ecología Urbana

@igue-aeet.bsky.social

Enjoy our latest paper in Eco. Appli. 😉
🔓Threshold responses of birds to agricultural intensification in Mediterranean olive groves | esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... 🐦 🌸 🐜 🌳

Growing up with chronic traffic noise exposure leads to transient but not long-term noise tolerance in a songbird | royalsocietypublishi... | Biology Letters | #ornithology 🪶

🎉 New Publication Alert! 🚨

Seasonal diversity, daily use and behaviour of birds using a green roof in a Mediterranean city.

🔗 doi.org/10.1098/rsos...

🦉🌎
#urbanecology

Have you ever wondered how a #shearwater fledgling flies from its nest to the places where they are grounded by #LightPollution?
We've used GPSs with remote download to track their flights & published this paper doi.org/10.3389/fevo...
#seabirds #seabirdersaturday

Eating in the city: Experimental effect of anthropogenic food resources on the body condition, nutritional status, and oxidative stress of an urban bioindicator passerine Urban diets impact House Sparrows. This study examines how bar snack food and pet food affect physical condition, nutrition, and oxidative stress in captive sparrows. Bar snack food causes anemia and...

📢 Urban Areas & Urban Wildlife: The Impact of Processed Food! 🍔🍟🍕

Have a look at our study that investigates the effects of urban diets on the House Sparrow, an urban bioindicator species. 🐦🏙️

#ornithology #science

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Do birds select the plastics debris used for nest construction? A case study in a Mediterranean agricultural landscape Plastic pollution is becoming a global problem due to its ubiquitous occurrence and the impacts detected for many species. However, the research about…

🌍 "Do #birds select the plastic debris used for nest construction? A case study in a Mediterranean agricultural landscape".

The impact of plastic extends beyond oceans, it's shaping terrestrial life too.

#science #nature

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...