Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

MostlyWaxbills @mostlywaxbills.bsky.social · 2d

The decades-long habit of measuring animal sound frequencies in hertz biases #bioacoustics research.
Part of the solution is very simple: do not measure animal sounds in Hz, measure them in logHz instead.

New article @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social here: doi.org/10.1111/2041...

Let's stop measuring animal sound frequencies in hertz

Research on the function and evolution of animal sounds typically analyses sound frequency on a linear scale (Hz), despite the perception and modulation of sound frequency by animals being better ...

doi.org

1 1

Reposted by MostlyWaxbills

ASAB @asab.org · 14d

🐦Waxbills! 🥡Food competition! 🕵️Strangers! 🤬Social aggression!

Our September #ASABEditorsChoice for the #AnimalBehaviourJournal:

“Watchful of strangers: Waxbills redirect aggression from unfamiliar to familiar individuals”

Read here: doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123288

Screenshot of an article: Animal Behaviour
Volume 227, September 2025, 123288
Watchful of strangers: waxbills redirect aggression from unfamiliar to familiar individuals
João R. Pacheco, Patrícia Beltrão, Sandra Trigo, Gonçalo C. Cardoso

1 4

MostlyWaxbills @mostlywaxbills.bsky.social · 28d

New #bioacoustics article at @journal-evo.bsky.social on how bird songs evolved extreme sound frequencies, despite frequency-dependent constraints on sound amplitude.
Paper here 📎: doi.org/10.1093/evol...

2 2

MostlyWaxbills @mostlywaxbills.bsky.social · Sep 3

João Pacheco's new paper - doi.org/10.1016/j.an... - continues a story of fear, reputation, show-off and aggression in waxbills.
Here are all chapters:
doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
doi.org/10.1098/rspb...
doi.org/10.1093/behe...
doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
doi.org/10.1016/j.an...
doi.org/10.1111/eth....

2 3

Reposted by MostlyWaxbills

Portuguese Ethological Society (SPE) @spetologia.bsky.social · Jun 13

🚨 New study by #SPEmembers 🚨
#AnimalBehaviour #Ethology #Communication #Calls

"Eavesdropping and contagious alarming in bird communities"
Rossetto et al. with SPE members Gonçalo Cardoso @mostlywaxbills.bsky.social
@ Learning & Behaviour

1 4 4

Reposted by MostlyWaxbills

BOU @bou.org.uk · Jun 6

Eavesdropping and contagious alarming in bird communities | link.springer.com/ar... | Learning and Behaviour | #ornithology 🪶

Eavesdropping and contagious alarming in bird communities

Learning & Behavior - Eavesdropping on heterospecific alarm calls can provide valuable information about predator presence and therefore yield survival benefits. However, if, how, and why...

link.springer.com

4 7

Reposted by MostlyWaxbills

Ana Cristina Gomes @anacrgomes.bsky.social · May 28

New Paper published 🎉🎉 👇👇👇

Portuguese Ethological Society (SPE) @spetologia.bsky.social · May 28

🚨 New study by #SPEmembers 🚨
#AnimalBehaviour #Ethology #Microbiome

Silva, Gomes et al. with SPE members Ana Gomes @anacrgomes.bsky.social , Gonçalo Cardoso @mostlywaxbills.bsky.social , Sandra Trigo @trigosandra.bsky.social @ Behav Ecol Sociobiol

1 2

MostlyWaxbills @mostlywaxbills.bsky.social · Mar 22

A waxbill with its red bill mottled black. This happens in breeding females, who mottle their red bill with juvenile-like black. Perhaps breeding females exploit others' innate responses towards juvenile bill colour.

See the new article @asn-amnat.bsky.social here doi.org/10.1086/735832

4 10

Reposted by MostlyWaxbills

Ana Cristina Gomes @anacrgomes.bsky.social · Jan 6

📢New paper alert!📢 We found stronger senescence and environmental effects on female colour than on males in a mutually ornamented bird, the common waxbill. with S Guerra, C Romero-Diaz, P Silva, S Trigo, and @mostlywaxbills.bsky.social at Behavioral Ecology (1/5)
academic.oup.com/beheco/artic...

Aging and environment affect female more than male color in a mutually ornamented bird

We found stronger senescence and environmental effects on female than male color in a mutually ornamented bird, the common waxbill. Results indicate plasti

academic.oup.com

1 4 13

Reposted by MostlyWaxbills

BOU @bou.org.uk · Dec 2

Ageing and environment affect female more than male color in a mutually ornamented bird | doi.org/10.1093/behe... | Behavioral Ecology | #ornithology 🪶

4 22