news – Department of Ornithology

Unpalatable birds are black: a re-analysis of Hugh Cott’s data on bird palatability

new publication

Bird colours fulfil a variety of functions. Could they also advertise bad taste? Advertising unprofitability to predators (aposematism) through colours, sounds or smell is…

Measurement error in remotely sensed fractional snow cover datasets: implications for ecological research

new publication

Variation in snow cover is an important factor to consider when undertaking research in Arctic habitats, because it can have far-reaching implications for plant and animal…

Jacques-Hamilton et al.

Large-scale sampling of potential breeding sites in male ruffs

new publication

Migratory birds typically move twice a year between an area where they breed and an area where they spend the non-breeding season. This pattern may be the rule in species…

Kempenaers et al.

The costs and benefits of a dynamic host microbiome

new publication

All vertebrates, including birds, host a diverse community of microorganisms. This community, along with its associated genes and metabolite by-products, is known as the…

Gillingham et al.

Sperm swimming speed and morphology differ little among the three genetic morphs of the ruff sandpiper Calidris pugnax

new publication

In the ruff sandpiper, a lekking shorebird, males come in three genetically determined morphs. Independent males (80-90% of all males) are larger and darker in plumage…

Variance partitioning of nest provisioning rates in blue tits: individual repeatability, heritability, and partner interactions

new publication

Birds show remarkable individual variation in the frequency at which they feed their offspring. Several factors may contribute to this variation, including genetic, social…

Santema, Forstmeier & Kempenaers

Hanna Leaves for Pastures New

alumni

After 6 years of working on shorebird microbiome projects as a (part-time) post-doc, Hanna Prüter is leaving us to take up a new position as scientific coordinator for the LI…

Bart Kempenaers

Welcome to Francesco Mistri

new group member

We are thrilled to have Francesco Mistri join our team as a Data Scientist. Francesco, a recent graduate from the University of Bologna with a Master’s in Artificial…

Bart Kempenaers

Project on the mating and dispersal behaviour of the Northern Lapwing off to a good start

project

In close collaboration with Dr. Heinrich Belting and his team from the Lower Saxony Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation Agency, our group studied a…

Bart Kempenaers

Opening of the Max Planck – University of Cape Town Centre for Behaviour and Coevolution

event

The 1st of June 2024 was the official start of the newly established Max Planck – University of Cape Town Centre for Behaviour and Coevolution, a partnership between the…

Bart Kempenaers

Wind in the sails for Johannes Krietsch

alumni

After studying the movements and the mating behaviour of polygynous pectoral sandpipers and polyandrous red phalaropes for his PhD, Hannes is now moving himself. He will…

Bart Kempenaers

Goodbye to Martin Bulla

alumni

After 13 years in our group, it is time to say goodbye to Martin Bulla. This autumn he will move to the Department of Ecology at the Czech University of Life Sciences in…

Bart Kempenaers

Removal of older males increases extra-pair siring success of yearling males

new publication

Older males are typically much more successful at siring extra-pair offspring than yearling males. This raises the question “Why?”. Are yearling males less successful…

Schlicht et al.

Variation in nuptial color in relation to sex, individual quality and mating success in the sex-role reversed Phalaropus fulicarius (Red Phalarope)

new publication

In most bird species, males are more ornamented and compete for females, while females contribute more to offspring care. In a minority of species, this pattern is reversed…

Video evidence that cuckoos farm their hosts by ejecting nestlings

new publication

A video recording of a Daurian redstart nest from a population in NE China showed that a common cuckoo ejected all the host nestlings. When the redstart then produced a new…

Ornithology from the Lakeshore: Life’s Mass Murderers

new publication

Bart Kempenaers latest editorial for the Dutch ornithological journal Ardea entitled “Life’s Mass Murderers” can be read now here.

Congratulations to Annie Aulsebrook

alumni

Congratulations to Annie Aulsebrook who became an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. After having spent 3 years as a…

Bart Kempenaers

From land to sea: the fall migration of the red phalarope through the Western Hemisphere

new publication

Red phalaropes belong to the shorebirds, but except during breeding, they are in fact surface-feeding, planktivorous seabirds. In a collaborative project with colleagues…

Saalfeld et al.

A dawn and dusk chorus will emerge if males sing in the absence of their mate

new publication

Many bird species, including blue tits, produce a striking outburst of song around dawn. Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain the dawn chorus, but none of them…

Schlicht et al.

Mutual mate guarding with limited sexual conflict in a sex-role-reversed shorebird

new publication

In a few species, referred to as “sex-role reversed”, females compete for males, as these males provide most or all parental care. Our research, based on continuous tracking…

Krietsch et al.

The risk of brood parasitism does not affect levels of extrapair paternity in a cuckoo host

new publication

The risk of brood parasitism may be expected to affect the costs and benefits of extra-pair copulations in host species, and thus levels of extra-pair paternity.…