Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
banner
ckecz.bsky.social
Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
@ckecz.bsky.social
🐦 Team from the University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic 🐦‍⬛ Investigating cognition and behavioral ecology of birds🦉Predator-Prey Interactions 🦅 Brood Parasitism 🪺 Bioacoustics ♪ Foraging 🌰 Competition ⚔️

https://cke.cz/en_GB/
Pinned
🔬✨ How to best introduce ourselves on 🦋?

Well, with our recent papers 🤩⬇️

🦅 Does size matter when recognizing predators?
🧐 Do magpies recognize a juvenile goshawk?
👀 No weapons, no danger?
🐞 How do #birds respond to aposematic 🐞 in their diet?
#Ornithology #AnimalBehaviour #RaptorResearch 🪶🧪
🐦‍⬛🔊 How do phylogeny, morphology and ecological factors affect the structure of the #corvids vocalizations? 🤔

➡️ Find out in our new paper 🤩

🔗 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

#Corvidae #AlarmCalls #Morphology #Phylogeny #Ecology #Bioacoustics #AnimalCognition #NewPaper
Acoustic variation in alarm calls of Corvidae–effect of morphology, ecology and phylogeny - Animal Cognition
Bioacoustic parameters of vocalization are generally well adapted to the environment that the species inhabits and are influenced by the morphology and life history of the species. These effects are f...
link.springer.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
🐦 Exciting news! Our new paper is out in PLOS Biology:
“A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia.”
Led by the #ManyBirds Project - 129 researchers, 82 institutions, 24 countries 🌍
🔗 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
@themanybirds.bsky.social
A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia
Neophobia (the aversive response to novelty) varies considerably across species and individuals, and can impact adaptability and survival. This study assesses neophobia in 1400 subjects from 136 bird ...
journals.plos.org
October 14, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
😍🦅 An absolutely fantastic project and the best collaboration. I am very happy that it was successful on such a scale. We are glad that we could contribute on behalf of our Czech team from @prfju.bsky.social 🪶 🙏 #BirdCognition @ckecz.bsky.social
October 14, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
🎓✨ It’s official – I am now a Ph.D. 🎓✨
After years of research, fieldwork, writing, and countless discussions, I successfully defended my dissertation on predator recognition in birds.

I couldn’t have done this without the support of my colleagues, mentors, friends, family and birds. Thank you! 🦅🙏
September 4, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
Our new review on numerical cognition in birds, just out in Nature Reviews Psychology! 🐦🧠

Behavior, neurobiology & field studies across avian species

Very fond of the neurobiology part :)

📖 Read it here: rdcu.be/eyErI
Numerical cognition in birds
Nature Reviews Psychology - Birds demonstrate complex numerical abilities at levels similar to primates. In this Review, Regolin and colleagues describe the contribution of laboratory, field and...
rdcu.be
August 1, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
Food availability affects parental anti-predator behaviour in red kites | doi.org/10.1002/jav.... | Journal of Avian Biology | #ornithology #RaptorResearch 🪶
Food availability affects parental anti‐predator behaviour in red kites
Parental investment theory proposes two non-mutually exclusive hypotheses to explain variation in anti-predator behaviour in relation to the age of offspring: the ‘reproductive value of offspring' hy...
doi.org
July 21, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
Selection Shapes Diverse Animal Minds: our special issue of @royalsocietypublishing.org Phil Trans B on the diverse evolutionary processes underlying cognitive evolution is out today. Thanks to all our contributors! royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202...
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Vol 380, No 1929
royalsocietypublishing.org
June 26, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
😍 Thank you, Maja, for the wonderful summary of our research. I would like to add that this is not all—another batch of crazy bird scarecrows will be coming soon. Stay tuned 🤩🪶🦅🧪

@ckecz.bsky.social
#BirdCognition #Ornithology
A kestrel with a pigeon beak? A pigeon with sparrowhawk talons?

To study predator recognition, researchers prepare the most hilarious mixed-species #bird dummies. 🪶🧪

Want to see some photos & learn about the #science behind these experiments?
Have a look:
beaksandbones.substack.com/p/kestrel-re...
Scientists built a kestrel plushie with a pigeon beak—here's why
A kestrel with the beak, eyes, and legs of a pigeon is no longer recognized as dangerous by Red-backed shrikes.
beaksandbones.substack.com
May 21, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
Goffins, shrikes, tits — I had the pleasure of talking about all of them at #VetMedUni in Vienna! 🇦🇹🪶🦜🦅
Thanks to @mohara.bsky.social and @bmioduszewska.bsky.social for the invitation. 🤩 It was fantastic to catch up with this wonderful group of brilliant people over good 🍻
#ComparativeCognition
May 6, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
Horror monsters for birds

By modifying the eyes of the sparrowhawks, great tits find them: either harmless like a pigeon (with no eyes), or absolutely terrifying (with frontal eyes in line or under the beak).

(paper) www.researchgate.net/publication/... @laniusondrej.bsky.social
April 19, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
1/7 Alternatives for a complex mind

Look at the image, it shows the proportion of neurons in the pallium (in blue) and in the cerebellum (red). Primates (including humans) have a rodent-like proportion

(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
by @gallinaciega.bsky.social
via @Raccoonologist
April 18, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
🧠🦅 Facial configuration matters 🦅🧠

We tested if wild #GreatTits recognise predators not just by what facial elements are present (eyes, beak), but also how they’re arranged.

👁️🔄 Rotate the eyes 90° = more fear
👁️↩️ Rotate them 180° = same fear
👁️🚫 No eyes/beak = no fear

#BirdCognition 🐦🪶🧪 #JCOMP
April 16, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
Our paper, on viewing condition and the evolution of plumage colour, is published!

This was several years of work, building on our study of woodcock communication.

Working with @sheardcat.bsky.social and John was a particular privilege.

🪶🧪#ornithology

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Viewing conditions predict evolutionary diversity in avian plumage colour | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Animals communicate using multiple sensory channels, including via vision. The colourful plumage of birds is a model system to study visual communication, having evolved through a complex interplay of...
royalsocietypublishing.org
April 9, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
🧠🦅 Czech interview about bird intelligence in Czech Radio České Budějovice 🦅🧠 @irozhlas.cz

budejovice.rozhlas.cz/moudry-jako-...

#Ornithology #AnimalCognition 🪶
April 9, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
❗️🧠 I'm reminding this starter pack, anyone who wants to be added, let me know.

#BirdCognition 🧪🪶🦜🦅🦉🐦‍⬛🦆🐥
🦅🧠 Bird Cognition 🧠🦅
Anyone who studies or is just fascinated by how birds perceive, learn, remember and solve problems 🐦

Let's all meet in this cool new #starterpack 🤩

Let me know if you want to join in too 🦜🦤🦉🦆🐣🪺🪶🧪

🔗 go.bsky.app/V2K7HQM

#Ornithology #Birds #AnimalBehaviour
March 31, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
Coming later this year, the 10th hole-nesting bird conference, from 10-12 Sept in beautiful Olomouc, Czech Republic. Held every 3-4 years, this is a great meeting bringing all those interested in cavity-nesting birds (natural & artificial) together. #ornithology

zoologie.upol.cz/hnb-2025/
March 31, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
🐝 According to the discovery of a new fossil hoverfly with a well-preserved mimetic color pattern, the occurrence of accurate wasp mimics preceded the dominance of passerine birds in Europe. 🐦

Read more in a new paper ⬇️

doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
March 24, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
‼️ CogEvo 2025 🧠 🚨

A unique workshop on cognition, neuroscience, evolution and development organized by the Center for Mind/Brain Sciences.

🗓️ July 17-18, 2025
📍 Rovereto, Italy 🇮🇹
🔗 Registration: event.unitn.it/cogevo/

#CogEvo2025 #CogEvo #Cognition #Neuroscience
CogEvo 25 - Workshop on Cognition and Evolution
CogEvo 25 Workshop on Cognition and Evolution will be held in Rovereto from 17 to 18 July 2025
event.unitn.it
March 12, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
🦅🧠 Bird Cognition 🧠🦅
Anyone who studies or is just fascinated by how birds perceive, learn, remember and solve problems 🐦

Let's all meet in this cool new #starterpack 🤩

Let me know if you want to join in too 🦜🦤🦉🦆🐣🪺🪶🧪

🔗 go.bsky.app/V2K7HQM

#Ornithology #Birds #AnimalBehaviour
March 7, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
Have you ever wondered why #woodpeckers don't get stuck in trees?

I answer that question in the latest post of my newsletter “Beaks & Bones”. 🪶🧪
You can read it here for free:
beaksandbones.substack.com/p/woodpecker...

#birds #ornithology #biology #nature
Why do woodpeckers not get stuck in trees?
Well, they actually do get stuck in trees quite often—but they free themselves within a blink of an eye. Here's how.
beaksandbones.substack.com
March 5, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
Check out the way this Long-eared Owl changes the shape of its facial disk when it hears a rodent below it:
March 6, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
🥳 Successfully passed state doctoral examinations 🥳

Thank you to all the examiners and everyone who has helped me on this dream journey 🙏 🦅

All that's left is the dissertation. Let's do it! 💪

#AnimalBehaviour @malavika-m.bsky.social @sangeeth-sailas.bsky.social @ckecz.bsky.social
March 3, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
Der Erfindergeist der Tiere

It is the first book by cognitive biologist Alice Auersperg (@auersperga.bsky.social), about the inventive capacity of other species. From bees to, of course, Goffin's cockatoos!

Recommended for those who speak German
www.brandstaetterverlag.com/buch/der-erf...
February 25, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Reposted by Czech Centre of Cognitive Ethology
Are you my successor? The @ibisjournal.bsky.social are looking for their next social media support officer to help deliver conferences, promote #ornithology and grow engagement across social media platforms

Very happy to chat more about the role, just comment 👇 or message me! ☺️

🧪 #AcademicSky #ECR
bou.org.uk BOU @bou.org.uk · Feb 24
📢 VACANCY

Could you be our next Social Media Support Officer?

We're looking for a social media whizz to support our output across multiple platforms

Check out the details & apply: bou.org.uk/about-the...

#ornithology 🪶

February 24, 2025 at 4:04 PM