Andrew Iwaniuk
LightNews LightNews
banner
evoneuro.bsky.social
Andrew Iwaniuk
@evoneuro.bsky.social
2.8K followers 1.9K following 2.1K posts
neurobiologist, ornithologist, scruffy looking nerfherder, social distancing since 1974, currently at U Lethbridge, Treaty 7 lands
🇨🇦 🇦🇺 stuff
open access link for our book: https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/6000/Bird-Brains-and-BehaviorA-Synthesis
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
evoneuro.bsky.social
Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · Jul 2
In celebration of me avoiding becoming department chair for the next 3 years and receiving a new research chair, please enjoy one of my favourite parrot photos from two years ago.
Crimson rosella (Platycercus elegans)
#birds #birding #academicsky #WildOz #parrots 🪶🦜🇨🇦🇦🇺
A bright red parrot with a silver beak, blue cheeks and blue wing patches is perched on the top of a shrub against a cloudless blue sky.
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
wa-orchids.bsky.social
I hope you guys like owls! There may be a few posts about these Australian Boobooks that roost in our Perth Hills garden… they are just so magnificent 😍

It was hot today (40°C 🥵), this owl was feeling the heat so holding its wings away from its body 🪶
#ausbirds #wildoz #owls #BirdsSeenIn2026 #birds
Picture of a small Boobook owl standing on a wooden post. The owl is holding its wings away from its body as the day was very hot
January 2, 2026 at 11:52 AM
evoneuro.bsky.social
Yesterday my first bird of 2026 was black-capped chickadee!
#birds #birding #Alberta #Canada
A small songbird with white and buff body, black cape and throat and white sides of its face is perched on a thin willow branch that is coated in frost.
January 2, 2026 at 6:42 PM
evoneuro.bsky.social
First snowshoe of 2026 under light flurries and overcast skies in the Alberta foothills
#Alberta #Canada
A tramped down deer path through snowy forest. Several small spruce trees and various shrubs have snow covered branches. A view of a frozen lake covered in snow under an overcast sky. A black and white dog wearing a blue jacket is standing in profile looking at the shoreline, which has frost covered conifer and leafless poplar and willow trees.
January 2, 2026 at 5:40 PM
evoneuro.bsky.social
Special thanks to the reviewer who lost their shit and the journal for rejecting my student’s paper on Jan 1st. Great way to start 2026 ☹️
January 1, 2026 at 10:13 PM
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
arunadsouza.bsky.social
My dad, 85 years old, suffering from the effects of a 2 year struggle with cancer, and chief of surgery at the Chinook Regional Hospital for decades, was moved from an already overcrowded space to an “overcapacity room” while he recovers from a stomach bleed and pneumonia. This is the room. 🧵🧵🧵
December 31, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
davidcsimon.bsky.social
Let's start 2026 with some adorable baby King Parrots.
#birds
Photograph of a juvenile Australian King Parrot in a tree with green leaves. It has one foot raised towards the viewer so the underside is clearly visible. The bird is bright green with red 'pants', orange/yellow beak, black eyes, and is looking at the green leaves with intent to nibble. Photograph of a different juvenile Australian King Parrot against a soft background. It is a side view, with the bird's head lowered to horizontal with its shoulders. Photo of a third juvenile King Parrot (at least I think they're all different individuals... it can be hard to tell), sunlit against a dark background. It has its head turned and is eyeing the viewer quizzically.
January 1, 2026 at 7:05 AM
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
teamswiftparrot.bsky.social
Happy new year!
A yellow tailed black cockatoo sitting on pink protea flowers
December 31, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
thoughtsnations.bsky.social
Just had some sweet justice at SuperStore-I’m parked in a handicap spot as I have a sticker for my knee.

Old couple gets into their truck parked in the “Expectant mothers” spot and I call them out!

He says “You got a sticker what’s your handicap?”
“None of your business!” I told them it was….
January 1, 2026 at 1:14 AM
evoneuro.bsky.social
A flock of pine grosbeaks was a great way to wrap up birding for 2025.
#birds #birding #Alberta #Canada 🪶🇨🇦
A large beaked pinkish-red songbird with a black beak, grey abdomen and grey, white and black wings (male pine grosbeak) is perched on a bare willow branch. It has a contemplative look on its face.
December 31, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
nicrawlencenz.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘They didn’t de-extinct anything’: can Colossal’s genetically engineered animals ever be the real thing?
The bioscience startup has attracted billions in investment – and a flurry of criticism, but founder tells the Guardian plans to bring back the woolly mammoth will not be derailed
www.theguardian.com
December 31, 2025 at 5:57 PM
evoneuro.bsky.social
Last snowshoe of the year.
#Alberta #Canada
A frozen lake covered in snow with a track across it from snowshoes. The sun is just above the horizon on a mainly overcast morning. Along the lakeshore is a tall stand of spruce trees.
December 31, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
sandra-aamodt.bsky.social
This Altamira oriole from south Texas wishes you all a bright new year!
Closeup of an orange bird with a seed in its gray beak, against a blurred green background. It has a black throat that is continuous with a black patch around its beak and black eye. Its back and wings are black, with a white stripe across the wing.
December 31, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
davidcsimon.bsky.social
Some of my favourite birds photos of 2025.
(IDs in alt-text)
#birds
A 4x3 array of images with one bird photo for each month of the year. Title: 2025 in birds by @davidcsimon January: Rainbow Lorikeet preening February: Young Grey Butcherbird March: Golden Whistler, male April: Silvereye May: Gang-gang Cockatoo, female June: Eastern Yellow Robin, round July: Swamp Harrier in flight August: Little Wattlebird September: Eastern Spinebill October: Crimson Rosella November: Brown Thornbill, juvenile December: Brown Cuckoo-dove, sunning
December 31, 2025 at 2:32 AM
evoneuro.bsky.social
After 4 days of ICU and 10 days of antibiotics, Indy (named after Dr. Jones) is almost back to normal so we are out at the cabin for a few days. Special thanks to Family Pet!
www.familypet.ca
#yql
A black headed hunting dog with a black spotted white coat is standing on the snow of a frozen lake with the sun rising behind him on the horizon.
December 31, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
teamswiftparrot.bsky.social
Gang gang cockatoo beaks mean business ✂️⚒️
Close up of a gang gang cockatoo head showing its massive beak
December 30, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
teamswiftparrot.bsky.social
Gang gang face 🥲
Extreme closeup of the face of a baby gang gang face
December 30, 2025 at 5:56 AM
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
mikemelton.bsky.social
Agami Heron at Agami Island #CostaRica

#birds #herons #nature
A striking bird with a very long, pointed bill sits among green leaves. It has a deep red eye, dark blue-gray feathers, a chestnut patch on its chest, and fine, pale streaked feathers on its neck.
December 30, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
doktrnick.bsky.social
The sibling of the Powerful Owlet, which was 3m along the branch, had an unusual left eye. Apart from the colour, the eye looked fine and functional. We don't usually name Owlets, but we'll be thinking "Bowie".
#brisbane #birds #wildoz
December 29, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
sciencenews.bsky.social
About 0.1 percent of the global population, some 8.8 million people, identifies as scientists, which means only a small fraction of people personally know a scientist. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/scientists-shape-of-wonder-researchers
Scientists are people too, a new book reminds readers
The Shape of Wonder humanizes scientists by demystifying the scientific process and showing the personal side of researchers.
www.sciencenews.org
December 28, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
walks30.bsky.social
‘Once in a lifetime’: Crowds gather in Vancouver to look at bird never before seen in Canada
‘Once in a lifetime’: Crowds gather in Vancouver to look at bird never before seen in Canada
Birders are flocking to Vancouver’s Sunset Beach Park this weekend to take in an incredibly rare sight—the first time on record a particular species of bird has ever been seen in Canada.
www.ctvnews.ca
December 28, 2025 at 2:36 AM
evoneuro.bsky.social
An amazing lab working on a very cool system. If you are interested in #evolution and #neuroscience make sure you apply!
#neuroethology #neuroskyence
ebablab.bsky.social Stephen Montgomery @ebablab.bsky.social · Nov 21
🚨RA/PhD position available in evolutionary neurobiology 🚨

Working on a deep dive into circuit changes during mushroom body expansion in Heliconius butterflies @camzoology.bsky.social

- employment benefits
- 4 years funding
- 1000% fun

Deadline: 14/1/2026

Details:
www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...
Shades of blue and red in a slice through an immuno stained brain showing some deliciously lovely looking mushroom body lobes - ripe for investigation during a funded PhD - and the central complex. Image credit: Dr Max Farnworth
December 27, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
australiainstitute.org.au
The Australian Government makes more money from HECS repayments than it does from the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax.

Read more here: https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/in-2023-24-australians-paid-more-than-4-times-on-hecs-help-than-gas-companies-did-on-prrt/
December 26, 2025 at 8:43 PM
evoneuro.bsky.social
My family understands me well
A pair of socks that say “yeah I’m old fuck you” a ribbon award for zero fucks given and a 1970s Iron Man comic “calamity on campus”
December 26, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
abcnewsbot.bsky.social
An endangered malleefowl chick has been saved from a 2,000-hectare bushfire in a regional Victorian national park.
Endangered malleefowl chick saved in national park bushfire
An endangered malleefowl chick has been saved from a 2,000-hectare bushfire in a regional Victorian national park.
www.abc.net.au
December 25, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Reposted by Andrew Iwaniuk
ornellabertrand.bsky.social
What did the brain of the giant rat of the Canary islands look like? Check out our new article👇

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Very proud of my former Master student @flavienvincent.bsky.social who did an amazing job! 🧠🐀😄 Also see the beautiful illustration made by @gamarraptor.bsky.social
Illustration of Canariomys, the giant rat of the Canary Islands and of a mouse for scale.
December 25, 2025 at 9:46 PM