Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
@drrmiller.bsky.social
Senior Research Fellow, Cambridge University | Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Exeter University | Comparative Psychology | Cognition & Conservation | @themanybirds.bsky.social Co-Founder | 🪶🐦👶🐵🧠 | Website: www.drrachaelmiller.com
Pinned
🐦 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.”
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
So excited that our first major empirical @themanybirds.bsky.social paper is now out in @plosbiology.org!
Leading this big team science project, with our excellent core leadership team, is a labour of love for me, delighted to see our hard work over the past 4 years has reached this milestone!
Leading this big team science project, with our excellent core leadership team, is a labour of love for me, delighted to see our hard work over the past 4 years has reached this milestone!
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
In this blog post, Guest Editor @rachkendal.bsky.social discusses their #PhilTransB issue, 'Transforming cultural evolution research and its application to global futures': royalsociety.org/blog/2025/12...
December 13, 2025 at 2:01 PM
In this blog post, Guest Editor @rachkendal.bsky.social discusses their #PhilTransB issue, 'Transforming cultural evolution research and its application to global futures': royalsociety.org/blog/2025/12...
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
What are the causes & consequences of behavioural diversity loss in a changing world? And how do we harness this knowledge for conservation? New open access paper led by @odedberger-tal.bsky.social with David Saltz and @mrmic1.bsky.social
#BobWongLab
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
#BobWongLab
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
Anthropogenic change and the loss of behavioural diversity
Abstract. Behavioural diversity is an important but understudied facet of biodiversity that enables wildlife populations to cope with rapidly changing envi
royalsocietypublishing.org
December 10, 2025 at 8:58 PM
What are the causes & consequences of behavioural diversity loss in a changing world? And how do we harness this knowledge for conservation? New open access paper led by @odedberger-tal.bsky.social with David Saltz and @mrmic1.bsky.social
#BobWongLab
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
#BobWongLab
royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article...
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
New paper out today w @dalmaijer.bsky.social @barbaraklump.bsky.social and @lucymaplin.bsky.social as part of the Phil Trans special issue doi.org/10.1098/rstb.... Over 2 years, we studied a population of cockatoos thought to be the source of the innovation of bin-opening.
December 4, 2025 at 1:31 PM
New paper out today w @dalmaijer.bsky.social @barbaraklump.bsky.social and @lucymaplin.bsky.social as part of the Phil Trans special issue doi.org/10.1098/rstb.... Over 2 years, we studied a population of cockatoos thought to be the source of the innovation of bin-opening.
Enjoyed giving an invited research talk today for the Behaviour & Ecology Research Group at @uniofhull.bsky.social - thanks very much for inviting and hosting me, @drblakemorton.bsky.social :)
November 28, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Enjoyed giving an invited research talk today for the Behaviour & Ecology Research Group at @uniofhull.bsky.social - thanks very much for inviting and hosting me, @drblakemorton.bsky.social :)
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
You know those labs that keep harming students, again and again? Some reflections on why it's so hard to stop this from happening and where our responsibilities lie.
scienceforeveryone.science/bad-mentors-... 🧪
scienceforeveryone.science/bad-mentors-... 🧪
Bad mentors hurt people
What to do about bad mentors?
scienceforeveryone.science
November 25, 2025 at 6:38 PM
You know those labs that keep harming students, again and again? Some reflections on why it's so hard to stop this from happening and where our responsibilities lie.
scienceforeveryone.science/bad-mentors-... 🧪
scienceforeveryone.science/bad-mentors-... 🧪
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
New amazing open Postdoc position, w/t opportunities to 1) get closely involved in our next @themanybirds.bsky.social study on innovation and problem-solving; 2) work with @ecobird.bsky.social on avian innovation, cognition & invasiveness. Advert: www.ugent.be/en/work/scie...
November 14, 2025 at 6:20 AM
New amazing open Postdoc position, w/t opportunities to 1) get closely involved in our next @themanybirds.bsky.social study on innovation and problem-solving; 2) work with @ecobird.bsky.social on avian innovation, cognition & invasiveness. Advert: www.ugent.be/en/work/scie...
New amazing open Postdoc position, w/t opportunities to 1) get closely involved in our next @themanybirds.bsky.social study on innovation and problem-solving; 2) work with @ecobird.bsky.social on avian innovation, cognition & invasiveness. Advert: www.ugent.be/en/work/scie...
November 14, 2025 at 6:16 AM
New amazing open Postdoc position, w/t opportunities to 1) get closely involved in our next @themanybirds.bsky.social study on innovation and problem-solving; 2) work with @ecobird.bsky.social on avian innovation, cognition & invasiveness. Advert: www.ugent.be/en/work/scie...
Amazing opportunity for a PhD position with the wonderful Dr Megan Lambert in Vienna and her fascinating kea parrots! 10/10 recommend working with Dr Lambert. See advert linked below for more info.
November 14, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Amazing opportunity for a PhD position with the wonderful Dr Megan Lambert in Vienna and her fascinating kea parrots! 10/10 recommend working with Dr Lambert. See advert linked below for more info.
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
🐦 EcoBird is hiring a Postdoc in animal cognition!
Join us + @themanybirds.bsky.social to investigate innovation & problem-solving in birds.
📅 Start: as early as Jan 2026
🌍 Funded through UGent’s international mobility scheme
More info & how to apply ↓
www.ugent.be/en/work/scie...
Join us + @themanybirds.bsky.social to investigate innovation & problem-solving in birds.
📅 Start: as early as Jan 2026
🌍 Funded through UGent’s international mobility scheme
More info & how to apply ↓
www.ugent.be/en/work/scie...
Postdoctoral fellow
www.ugent.be
November 13, 2025 at 2:23 PM
🐦 EcoBird is hiring a Postdoc in animal cognition!
Join us + @themanybirds.bsky.social to investigate innovation & problem-solving in birds.
📅 Start: as early as Jan 2026
🌍 Funded through UGent’s international mobility scheme
More info & how to apply ↓
www.ugent.be/en/work/scie...
Join us + @themanybirds.bsky.social to investigate innovation & problem-solving in birds.
📅 Start: as early as Jan 2026
🌍 Funded through UGent’s international mobility scheme
More info & how to apply ↓
www.ugent.be/en/work/scie...
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
Our new paper offers an explanation for the universal law that "under carefully controlled conditions.... an animal behaves as it damn well pleases." We explore how stochastic mechanisms may play an underappreciated role in generating individuality. (1/7 🧵)
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Playing dice with behavior: drivers of stochastic individuality
Animal behavior is often viewed as stemming from predictable genetic and environmental factors. However, despite our best attempts to control genetic …
www.sciencedirect.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Our new paper offers an explanation for the universal law that "under carefully controlled conditions.... an animal behaves as it damn well pleases." We explore how stochastic mechanisms may play an underappreciated role in generating individuality. (1/7 🧵)
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
The MBirds paper is out! Congratulations to all collaborators on this major accomplishment 🧪 The study found interesting differences in neophobia between migratory and non-migratory species: doi.org/10.1371/jour...
So excited that our first major empirical @themanybirds.bsky.social paper is now out in @plosbiology.org!
Leading this big team science project, with our excellent core leadership team, is a labour of love for me, delighted to see our hard work over the past 4 years has reached this milestone!
Leading this big team science project, with our excellent core leadership team, is a labour of love for me, delighted to see our hard work over the past 4 years has reached this milestone!
🐦 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.”
Led by the #ManyBirds Project - 129 researchers, 82 institutions, 24 countries 🌍
🔗 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
@themanybirds.bsky.social
October 16, 2025 at 11:46 AM
The MBirds paper is out! Congratulations to all collaborators on this major accomplishment 🧪 The study found interesting differences in neophobia between migratory and non-migratory species: doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
Fear of novelty varies across species & individuals, impacting adaptability & survival. @themanybirds.bsky.social @drrmiller.bsky.social &co assess #neophobia in 1400 subjects from 136 #bird species, identifying phylogenetic influences & broad ecological drivers @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4haLEsN
October 15, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Fear of novelty varies across species & individuals, impacting adaptability & survival. @themanybirds.bsky.social @drrmiller.bsky.social &co assess #neophobia in 1400 subjects from 136 #bird species, identifying phylogenetic influences & broad ecological drivers @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4haLEsN
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
It was such an incredible, enriching, and fun experience — I learned so much ❤️ So thankful to the amazing leadership team who welcomed me! @drrmiller.bsky.social @vedranaslipogor.bsky.social @nomascus.bsky.social @stephanreber.bsky.social @cds-york.bsky.social Megan Lambert & Claudia Mettke-Hofmann
October 15, 2025 at 1:40 PM
It was such an incredible, enriching, and fun experience — I learned so much ❤️ So thankful to the amazing leadership team who welcomed me! @drrmiller.bsky.social @vedranaslipogor.bsky.social @nomascus.bsky.social @stephanreber.bsky.social @cds-york.bsky.social Megan Lambert & Claudia Mettke-Hofmann
So excited that our first major empirical @themanybirds.bsky.social paper is now out in @plosbiology.org!
Leading this big team science project, with our excellent core leadership team, is a labour of love for me, delighted to see our hard work over the past 4 years has reached this milestone!
Leading this big team science project, with our excellent core leadership team, is a labour of love for me, delighted to see our hard work over the past 4 years has reached this milestone!
🐦 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.”
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 7:40 PM
So excited that our first major empirical @themanybirds.bsky.social paper is now out in @plosbiology.org!
Leading this big team science project, with our excellent core leadership team, is a labour of love for me, delighted to see our hard work over the past 4 years has reached this milestone!
Leading this big team science project, with our excellent core leadership team, is a labour of love for me, delighted to see our hard work over the past 4 years has reached this milestone!
New paper just out: Rachael Miller @drrmiller.bsky.social, Ning Ding & Nicky Clayton in Cognitive Development: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... on the “Cognitive correlates of future-oriented cognition in young Chinese children”. @campsydept.bsky.social @cam.ac.uk 1/
Cognitive correlates of future-oriented cognition in young Chinese children
Future-oriented cognition, which broadly encompasses an array of cognitive processes involved in understanding, constructing, imagining and planning f…
www.sciencedirect.com
September 10, 2025 at 12:15 PM
New paper just out: Rachael Miller @drrmiller.bsky.social, Ning Ding & Nicky Clayton in Cognitive Development: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... on the “Cognitive correlates of future-oriented cognition in young Chinese children”. @campsydept.bsky.social @cam.ac.uk 1/
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
Stay tuned for a very exciting update coming shortly from the ManyBirds Project! Eeek!
September 9, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Stay tuned for a very exciting update coming shortly from the ManyBirds Project! Eeek!
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
Dream team: Alessandroni @drrmiller.bsky.social @dremalt.bsky.social @marinabazhydai.bsky.social @mamsmandrill.bsky.social @jespinosa.bsky.social Gjoneska @izziehb.bsky.social @valmazza.bsky.social Paukner @epronizius.bsky.social Proulx, Qadri, Reilly, Schwing ...
July 13, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Dream team: Alessandroni @drrmiller.bsky.social @dremalt.bsky.social @marinabazhydai.bsky.social @mamsmandrill.bsky.social @jespinosa.bsky.social Gjoneska @izziehb.bsky.social @valmazza.bsky.social Paukner @epronizius.bsky.social Proulx, Qadri, Reilly, Schwing ...
Really enjoyed giving an invited research talk today at the Behaviour and Evolution seminar series, Departments of Behavioural Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Theoretical Biology at Bielefeld University. Thank you @kpg13.bsky.social for inviting me! 1/2
July 16, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Really enjoyed giving an invited research talk today at the Behaviour and Evolution seminar series, Departments of Behavioural Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Theoretical Biology at Bielefeld University. Thank you @kpg13.bsky.social for inviting me! 1/2
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
Check our new preprint! Our systematic review of 206 reversal learning studies shows that behavioural flexibility research is heavily biased towards birds, rodents, and humans, with most animal diversity virtually untested. #Manymanys #BigTeamScience #ComparativeCognition
Flexible Behavior or Flexible Methods? A Cross-Taxon Review of Experimental Designs in Reversal Learning: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/mvche_v1
July 13, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Check our new preprint! Our systematic review of 206 reversal learning studies shows that behavioural flexibility research is heavily biased towards birds, rodents, and humans, with most animal diversity virtually untested. #Manymanys #BigTeamScience #ComparativeCognition
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
Excited to share our latest preprint, just accepted in Animal Behaviour. Congrats to @kristyadaway.bsky.social on her first first-author publication! #ECRresearch #PhDpaper @uniofhull.bsky.social 🦝🧠🧩🌎
Link to preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Link to preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Wild raccoons are more innovative but not bolder than another ecological generalist, the Virginia opossum, on a pull-string task
Humans are altering natural environments at unprecedented rates. Ecological generalism is one of the strongest predictors of survival in light of these changes which, in animals, may be shaped by bold...
doi.org
April 25, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Excited to share our latest preprint, just accepted in Animal Behaviour. Congrats to @kristyadaway.bsky.social on her first first-author publication! #ECRresearch #PhDpaper @uniofhull.bsky.social 🦝🧠🧩🌎
Link to preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Link to preprint: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
Personality-driven hunting mortality in male moose, through habitat selection.
Living under the scope: behavior affects survival in a heavily harvested and long-lived ungulate vist.ly/3m2qsjv #Moose #Hunting #Survival #Behaviour
April 25, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Personality-driven hunting mortality in male moose, through habitat selection.
Honoured to receive this @compcogsoc.bsky.social award and incredibly grateful for our community's collaboration and support, thank you!
March 28, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Honoured to receive this @compcogsoc.bsky.social award and incredibly grateful for our community's collaboration and support, thank you!
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
The Early Career Award Winner Featured Session starts at 11:30am! Award winner Rachael Miller @drrmiller.bsky.social will be talking about avian cognition and how it can be applied to #welfare and #conservation. #CO3_2025
March 28, 2025 at 5:25 PM
The Early Career Award Winner Featured Session starts at 11:30am! Award winner Rachael Miller @drrmiller.bsky.social will be talking about avian cognition and how it can be applied to #welfare and #conservation. #CO3_2025
Reposted by Dr Rachael Miller (Harrison)
🦅🧠 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
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
🦅🧠 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
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