Editor´s Choice - Negative Impact of geolocators

Tiny light-level geolocators with a mass of less than 1 gram give great hopes that it will be possible to reveal the annual migratory journeys of many small songbirds on an individual level, but evidence are also accumulating that equipping a small bird...

Regional and seasonal flight speeds of soaring migrants and the role of weather

A big challenge for migration ecologists is to resolve how environmental conditions along the migration routes of birds affect their migration timing and individual fitness. Read the authors own story behind this recent Open Access paper...

Density-dependent effects on nesting success of temperate-breeding Canada geese

Canada geese nesting in suburban environments are often considered a nuisance. However, their demographic expansion and ease of study offer the opportunity to examine important ecological processes. In this study, the authors conclude that both negative...

South temperate birds have higher apparent adult survival than tropical birds in Africa

In the low vegetation of a nature reserve surrounding a nuclear power station on the south-west coast of South Africa, a community of passerine birds breeds at an extraordinarily high density. With up to 1,640 nests monitored and 1,255 birds banded each year...

Editor´s Choice: Avian malaria is associated with increased reproductive investment

High quality individuals or Terminal investment? Avian malaria parasites, e.g. Haemoproteus and Plasmodium, are commonly found in many bird species. Studies aiming at estimating these parasites’ fitness effects have typically either found no effect or...

Editor´s Choice - The exception to the rule: Bewick's swans migrate slower in spring than in autumn

A dominating pattern among migratory birds is that migration speed during spring exceeds that during autumn. This makes exceptions to this pattern particularly interesting. The fascinating study by Nuijten et al. compares migration speed of Bewick's swans...

Most downloaded papers 2013

Our publisher Wiley just released our 10 most downloaded papers for 2013. As you might expect, most of the papers on the list were also published in 2013, but there are also a few surprises...

New Subject Editor - Jan van Gils

We are very happy to welcome Jan van Gils to our editorial team!

Jan van Gils has a very strong research profile in ecophysiology, foraging behaviour, evolutionary ecology and shorebird ecology, which are all core areas for Journal of Avian Biology....

Parent–environmental interactions shape acoustic signatures in tree swallows

Acoustic signatures are common components of avian vocalizations and are important for the recognition of individuals and groups. In this study the authors investigate whether acoustic brood signatures are attributed to the genetic/maternal origins or to their rearing...