David Pritchard
@davidpritchard.bsky.social
Lecturer in Psychology at Newcastle University
Studying how animals acquire and use information to do useful things. Navigation, foraging, and comparative cognition. 🐦⬛
All opinions are my own. He/him. OCD & ADHD
Studying how animals acquire and use information to do useful things. Navigation, foraging, and comparative cognition. 🐦⬛
All opinions are my own. He/him. OCD & ADHD
Reposted by David Pritchard
With all this talk of cow tools now's a good time to mention my new paper with @abigaildesmond.bsky.social titled 'Why don't all animals use tools?' 🧪🛠️🐮
It's in press at the journal Animal Behaviour & Cognition. You can get a pdf of the accepted version from the research page of my site 🧵 1/
It's in press at the journal Animal Behaviour & Cognition. You can get a pdf of the accepted version from the research page of my site 🧵 1/
Research
twig.technology
January 20, 2026 at 9:12 AM
With all this talk of cow tools now's a good time to mention my new paper with @abigaildesmond.bsky.social titled 'Why don't all animals use tools?' 🧪🛠️🐮
It's in press at the journal Animal Behaviour & Cognition. You can get a pdf of the accepted version from the research page of my site 🧵 1/
It's in press at the journal Animal Behaviour & Cognition. You can get a pdf of the accepted version from the research page of my site 🧵 1/
Reposted by David Pritchard
A view of bird's eyes -- Pigeons lock their eyes in place during flight https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.07.698303v1
January 9, 2026 at 12:45 AM
A view of bird's eyes -- Pigeons lock their eyes in place during flight https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.07.698303v1
Reposted by David Pritchard
Can humans & animals really use internal maps to take shortcuts?
Tolman famously said yes - based largely on his Sunburst maze.
Our new review & meta-analysis suggests evidence is far weaker than you might think.
🧵👇 doi.org/10.1111/ejn....
@uofgpsychneuro.bsky.social @ejneuroscience.bsky.social
Tolman famously said yes - based largely on his Sunburst maze.
Our new review & meta-analysis suggests evidence is far weaker than you might think.
🧵👇 doi.org/10.1111/ejn....
@uofgpsychneuro.bsky.social @ejneuroscience.bsky.social
Tolman's Sunburst Maze 80 Years on: A Meta‐Analysis Reveals Poor Replicability and Little Evidence for Shortcutting
In 1946, Tolman et al. reported that rats could take a novel shortcut to a goal after training on an indirect route, supporting the Cognitive Map theory. However, a review of subsequent Sunburst maze...
doi.org
January 5, 2026 at 7:52 PM
Can humans & animals really use internal maps to take shortcuts?
Tolman famously said yes - based largely on his Sunburst maze.
Our new review & meta-analysis suggests evidence is far weaker than you might think.
🧵👇 doi.org/10.1111/ejn....
@uofgpsychneuro.bsky.social @ejneuroscience.bsky.social
Tolman famously said yes - based largely on his Sunburst maze.
Our new review & meta-analysis suggests evidence is far weaker than you might think.
🧵👇 doi.org/10.1111/ejn....
@uofgpsychneuro.bsky.social @ejneuroscience.bsky.social
Reposted by David Pritchard
Male courtship dances have co-evolved with female preferences in peacock spiders, but with closely related species, assortative mating is “leaky” 🦚🕷️ #ASABWinter2025
December 15, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Male courtship dances have co-evolved with female preferences in peacock spiders, but with closely related species, assortative mating is “leaky” 🦚🕷️ #ASABWinter2025
Reposted by David Pritchard
Congratulations to Hanna Kokko for receiving this year’s ASAB medal! Hanna has done extraordinary work and we are so pleased to honour her at #ASABWinter2025
December 16, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Congratulations to Hanna Kokko for receiving this year’s ASAB medal! Hanna has done extraordinary work and we are so pleased to honour her at #ASABWinter2025
Reposted by David Pritchard
Fascinating Tinbergen Lecture by @toshitakaszk.bsky.social 🐦 on animal linguistics! Not only do Japanese tits have distinct sequence & predator calls 🐍🦅 they can also understand the calls of Willow tits!! You'll soon be able to get a copy of his book! #ASABWinter2025 @asab.org
December 16, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Fascinating Tinbergen Lecture by @toshitakaszk.bsky.social 🐦 on animal linguistics! Not only do Japanese tits have distinct sequence & predator calls 🐍🦅 they can also understand the calls of Willow tits!! You'll soon be able to get a copy of his book! #ASABWinter2025 @asab.org
Reposted by David Pritchard
Have you ever wondered what you would find if you could keep your eyes on a bee for more than a few meters? Us, too!
preprint (with videos!) + thread 🧵
Precise, individualized foraging flights in honey #bees 🐝 revealed by multicopter drone-based tracking
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
1/9
preprint (with videos!) + thread 🧵
Precise, individualized foraging flights in honey #bees 🐝 revealed by multicopter drone-based tracking
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
1/9
December 6, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Have you ever wondered what you would find if you could keep your eyes on a bee for more than a few meters? Us, too!
preprint (with videos!) + thread 🧵
Precise, individualized foraging flights in honey #bees 🐝 revealed by multicopter drone-based tracking
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
1/9
preprint (with videos!) + thread 🧵
Precise, individualized foraging flights in honey #bees 🐝 revealed by multicopter drone-based tracking
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
1/9
Reposted by David Pritchard
New paper: Stick dexterity in carrion crows🥢 Commentary on Moll et al. 2025 in which they trained crows to use stick tools. Their neat set-up allowed tracking tool motions, showing that crows became more efficient over time. Could nest building affect their stick dexterity? Full text: rdcu.be/eSOMF
a drawing of a crow with its mouth open
Alt: a drawing of a crow with its beaks opening and closing
media.tenor.com
December 3, 2025 at 10:28 AM
New paper: Stick dexterity in carrion crows🥢 Commentary on Moll et al. 2025 in which they trained crows to use stick tools. Their neat set-up allowed tracking tool motions, showing that crows became more efficient over time. Could nest building affect their stick dexterity? Full text: rdcu.be/eSOMF
Reposted by David Pritchard
PhD position - How jumping spiders see
- Put cute spiders on trackballs!
- Program fancy automated experiments!
- Do cutting edge research!
- Hang out in beautiful Italian cities!
- Be supervised by a super nice chap!
Like invertebrate behaviour and computation stuff? You'll love this.
Link in 🧵
- Put cute spiders on trackballs!
- Program fancy automated experiments!
- Do cutting edge research!
- Hang out in beautiful Italian cities!
- Be supervised by a super nice chap!
Like invertebrate behaviour and computation stuff? You'll love this.
Link in 🧵
November 21, 2025 at 3:48 PM
PhD position - How jumping spiders see
- Put cute spiders on trackballs!
- Program fancy automated experiments!
- Do cutting edge research!
- Hang out in beautiful Italian cities!
- Be supervised by a super nice chap!
Like invertebrate behaviour and computation stuff? You'll love this.
Link in 🧵
- Put cute spiders on trackballs!
- Program fancy automated experiments!
- Do cutting edge research!
- Hang out in beautiful Italian cities!
- Be supervised by a super nice chap!
Like invertebrate behaviour and computation stuff? You'll love this.
Link in 🧵
Reposted by David Pritchard
#PhD position!
Comparing #foraging and #cognition in #hummingbirds and #bumblebees
Fieldwork in the Canadian Rockies, lab experiments at @newcastleuni.bsky.social, and ecological modelling at @uniofstandrews.bsky.social
Details (including my email) here: iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...
Comparing #foraging and #cognition in #hummingbirds and #bumblebees
Fieldwork in the Canadian Rockies, lab experiments at @newcastleuni.bsky.social, and ecological modelling at @uniofstandrews.bsky.social
Details (including my email) here: iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...
From preferences to pollination: do hummingbirds and bees differ in how they choose flowers?
iapetus.ac.uk
November 9, 2025 at 2:14 PM
#PhD position!
Comparing #foraging and #cognition in #hummingbirds and #bumblebees
Fieldwork in the Canadian Rockies, lab experiments at @newcastleuni.bsky.social, and ecological modelling at @uniofstandrews.bsky.social
Details (including my email) here: iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...
Comparing #foraging and #cognition in #hummingbirds and #bumblebees
Fieldwork in the Canadian Rockies, lab experiments at @newcastleuni.bsky.social, and ecological modelling at @uniofstandrews.bsky.social
Details (including my email) here: iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...
#PhD position!
Comparing #foraging and #cognition in #hummingbirds and #bumblebees
Fieldwork in the Canadian Rockies, lab experiments at @newcastleuni.bsky.social, and ecological modelling at @uniofstandrews.bsky.social
Details (including my email) here: iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...
Comparing #foraging and #cognition in #hummingbirds and #bumblebees
Fieldwork in the Canadian Rockies, lab experiments at @newcastleuni.bsky.social, and ecological modelling at @uniofstandrews.bsky.social
Details (including my email) here: iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...
From preferences to pollination: do hummingbirds and bees differ in how they choose flowers?
iapetus.ac.uk
November 9, 2025 at 2:14 PM
#PhD position!
Comparing #foraging and #cognition in #hummingbirds and #bumblebees
Fieldwork in the Canadian Rockies, lab experiments at @newcastleuni.bsky.social, and ecological modelling at @uniofstandrews.bsky.social
Details (including my email) here: iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...
Comparing #foraging and #cognition in #hummingbirds and #bumblebees
Fieldwork in the Canadian Rockies, lab experiments at @newcastleuni.bsky.social, and ecological modelling at @uniofstandrews.bsky.social
Details (including my email) here: iapetus.ac.uk/studentships...
Reposted by David Pritchard
I have a job opening in my lab. If you are interested in bird behaviour and predator prey interactions please take a look! werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
Vacancy — Postdoc Position in Decision Making in Birds
Are you an expert in animal behavior? Do you have experience working with birds? The Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) is looking for a motivated researcher to investigate the ro...
werkenbij.uva.nl
September 25, 2025 at 10:10 AM
I have a job opening in my lab. If you are interested in bird behaviour and predator prey interactions please take a look! werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
Reposted by David Pritchard
Beautiful plenary by @mariatelloramos.bsky.social on the architecture of structures built by cooperative weaver sparrows 🐦 #EtoEcoEvo25
September 3, 2025 at 7:16 AM
Beautiful plenary by @mariatelloramos.bsky.social on the architecture of structures built by cooperative weaver sparrows 🐦 #EtoEcoEvo25
Reposted by David Pritchard
My latest Aronov lab paper is now published @Nature!
When a chickadee looks at a distant location, the same place cells activate as if it were actually there 👁️
The hippocampus encodes where the bird is looking, AND what it expects to see next -- enabling spatial reasoning from afar
bit.ly/3HvWSum
When a chickadee looks at a distant location, the same place cells activate as if it were actually there 👁️
The hippocampus encodes where the bird is looking, AND what it expects to see next -- enabling spatial reasoning from afar
bit.ly/3HvWSum
June 11, 2025 at 10:24 PM
My latest Aronov lab paper is now published @Nature!
When a chickadee looks at a distant location, the same place cells activate as if it were actually there 👁️
The hippocampus encodes where the bird is looking, AND what it expects to see next -- enabling spatial reasoning from afar
bit.ly/3HvWSum
When a chickadee looks at a distant location, the same place cells activate as if it were actually there 👁️
The hippocampus encodes where the bird is looking, AND what it expects to see next -- enabling spatial reasoning from afar
bit.ly/3HvWSum
Reposted by David Pritchard
🎇✨Congratulations Prof. Susan Healy, our 2027 Research Award recipient (Uni. St Andrews, UK). A symposium + banquet will honor her contributions at the 2027 conference & a special issue will be published March 2028: 'In Honour of the Contributions of Susan Healy' #WomenInSTEM
April 15, 2025 at 9:01 AM
🎇✨Congratulations Prof. Susan Healy, our 2027 Research Award recipient (Uni. St Andrews, UK). A symposium + banquet will honor her contributions at the 2027 conference & a special issue will be published March 2028: 'In Honour of the Contributions of Susan Healy' #WomenInSTEM
Reposted by David Pritchard
New paper 🐣🌱🌷 Dartford warblers show high variation in nest materials: some nests are made of heather while others have a lot of grass. It seems birds can use different materials in different habitats without compromising nest insulation. nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
April 2, 2025 at 12:51 PM
New paper 🐣🌱🌷 Dartford warblers show high variation in nest materials: some nests are made of heather while others have a lot of grass. It seems birds can use different materials in different habitats without compromising nest insulation. nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by David Pritchard
🚨Fully-funded PhD studentship on insect behaviour, cognition & muscles with me & @viveknityananda.bsky.social at @newcastleuni.bsky.social 🐝🍀🎓🙌Application deadline April 30, start date in September. Drop me an email if you have questions! www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate...
February 24, 2025 at 2:49 PM
🚨Fully-funded PhD studentship on insect behaviour, cognition & muscles with me & @viveknityananda.bsky.social at @newcastleuni.bsky.social 🐝🍀🎓🙌Application deadline April 30, start date in September. Drop me an email if you have questions! www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate...
Reposted by David Pritchard
Job alert🐦 2yr post-doc position with Prof. Sue Healy on project "Mistakes in Action: From the Normativity of Goal-Directedness to Novel Investigations of Avian Nest Construction"🪺 Start asap. Contact: sdh11[at]st-andrews.ac.uk @uniofstandrews.bsky.social
February 21, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Job alert🐦 2yr post-doc position with Prof. Sue Healy on project "Mistakes in Action: From the Normativity of Goal-Directedness to Novel Investigations of Avian Nest Construction"🪺 Start asap. Contact: sdh11[at]st-andrews.ac.uk @uniofstandrews.bsky.social