Will Smith
@willjsmith.bsky.social
Evolution at the wild-domestic interface ⛰️🏙️
I study Rock Doves in the Outer Hebrides.
@uniofnottingham.bsky.social @leverhulme.ac.uk
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=UW64SScAAAAJ&hl
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/William-Smith-134
I study Rock Doves in the Outer Hebrides.
@uniofnottingham.bsky.social @leverhulme.ac.uk
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=UW64SScAAAAJ&hl
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/William-Smith-134
Pinned
Will Smith
@willjsmith.bsky.social
· Mar 10
Studies of domestic pigeons have taught us lots about cognition, navigation, and genetics. If you’d like to learn why their wild cousins are also worthy of scientific attention, I’ve written a Rock Dove @currentbiology.bsky.social ‘quick guide’: doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.01.065
Reposted by Will Smith
New issue of #BirdStudy
Little Terns nesting in Morocco
Urban Sparrowhawk diet
Urban Blackbird & Robin song shifts
Goosander tracking
Alpine Wheatears
Supplementary feeding of Turtle Doves
Red Kites and wind turbines
Białowieża Robin paternity
www.tandfonline.com/toc/tbis20/c...
#ornithology #birds
Little Terns nesting in Morocco
Urban Sparrowhawk diet
Urban Blackbird & Robin song shifts
Goosander tracking
Alpine Wheatears
Supplementary feeding of Turtle Doves
Red Kites and wind turbines
Białowieża Robin paternity
www.tandfonline.com/toc/tbis20/c...
#ornithology #birds
November 25, 2025 at 4:26 PM
New issue of #BirdStudy
Little Terns nesting in Morocco
Urban Sparrowhawk diet
Urban Blackbird & Robin song shifts
Goosander tracking
Alpine Wheatears
Supplementary feeding of Turtle Doves
Red Kites and wind turbines
Białowieża Robin paternity
www.tandfonline.com/toc/tbis20/c...
#ornithology #birds
Little Terns nesting in Morocco
Urban Sparrowhawk diet
Urban Blackbird & Robin song shifts
Goosander tracking
Alpine Wheatears
Supplementary feeding of Turtle Doves
Red Kites and wind turbines
Białowieża Robin paternity
www.tandfonline.com/toc/tbis20/c...
#ornithology #birds
Reposted by Will Smith
Our new paper is out today in Journal of the Royal Society Interface (link below). All about eggshell roughness: "Scratching beyond the surface: examining macroecological patterns in avian eggshell texture". Congrats first author Marie Attard, and thank you @leverhulme.ac.uk for the funding.
November 26, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Our new paper is out today in Journal of the Royal Society Interface (link below). All about eggshell roughness: "Scratching beyond the surface: examining macroecological patterns in avian eggshell texture". Congrats first author Marie Attard, and thank you @leverhulme.ac.uk for the funding.
Reposted by Will Smith
Contributed to #theBOUblog to share my experiences at the #EOU2025 in Wales this summer!
NEW on #theBOUblog from Malin Klumpp
At EOU2025: Using genomics to study how birds are moving and redistributing behavioural traits across geographic space
bou.org.uk/blog-klum...
#ornithology 🪶
At EOU2025: Using genomics to study how birds are moving and redistributing behavioural traits across geographic space
bou.org.uk/blog-klum...
#ornithology 🪶
November 24, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Contributed to #theBOUblog to share my experiences at the #EOU2025 in Wales this summer!
Third and final Uist trip finished! That's 481 individual Rock Doves ringed/recaptured/resighted during 2025, providing great data to help us understand this population. It's been nice to also get the opportunity to update the community on our project progress. @jezierskimt.bsky.social
November 21, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Third and final Uist trip finished! That's 481 individual Rock Doves ringed/recaptured/resighted during 2025, providing great data to help us understand this population. It's been nice to also get the opportunity to update the community on our project progress. @jezierskimt.bsky.social
Reposted by Will Smith
Big congratulations @rsmehlhausenfranks.bsky.social on passing your viva today with minor corrections. It’s been a pleasure supervising you. Thank you to the examiners @rjpheathcote.bsky.social and @markjfbrown.bsky.social! And thank you Paul Devlin and @evolecollab.bsky.social for your help too!
November 19, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Big congratulations @rsmehlhausenfranks.bsky.social on passing your viva today with minor corrections. It’s been a pleasure supervising you. Thank you to the examiners @rjpheathcote.bsky.social and @markjfbrown.bsky.social! And thank you Paul Devlin and @evolecollab.bsky.social for your help too!
We've been catching lots of Rock Doves in Uist 🏴 this week. @jezierskimt.bsky.social and I are here for our ongoing monitoring work. Hoping for lots of reports of colour-ringed birds to generate survival + movement data 🤓 🤞@uniofnottingham.bsky.social @leverhulme.ac.uk
November 17, 2025 at 10:28 AM
We've been catching lots of Rock Doves in Uist 🏴 this week. @jezierskimt.bsky.social and I are here for our ongoing monitoring work. Hoping for lots of reports of colour-ringed birds to generate survival + movement data 🤓 🤞@uniofnottingham.bsky.social @leverhulme.ac.uk
Reposted by Will Smith
Problems and progress in getting molluscan 🐌 genome assemblies, new paper out. Although the publication was much delayed, we recently redid the analysis, finding that actually not much ahs improved 😔 academic.oup.com/mollus/artic...
🧬 & 🖥️ #genomics #snails #molluscs
🧬 & 🖥️ #genomics #snails #molluscs
Molluscan genome assemblies—problems and progress
A reference genome assembly is a starting point for research (Davison & Neiman, 2021) in a wide variety of subdisciplines of biology, including mollusc
academic.oup.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Problems and progress in getting molluscan 🐌 genome assemblies, new paper out. Although the publication was much delayed, we recently redid the analysis, finding that actually not much ahs improved 😔 academic.oup.com/mollus/artic...
🧬 & 🖥️ #genomics #snails #molluscs
🧬 & 🖥️ #genomics #snails #molluscs
Reposted by Will Smith
We are still interested in any found twite feathers for a study on the relationships and genetic diversity between the British groups - particularly now for birds of Scottish origin in the NE of England or, birds on the Avon.
DM me for me more info.
#birdringing
DM me for me more info.
#birdringing
October 28, 2025 at 7:20 AM
We are still interested in any found twite feathers for a study on the relationships and genetic diversity between the British groups - particularly now for birds of Scottish origin in the NE of England or, birds on the Avon.
DM me for me more info.
#birdringing
DM me for me more info.
#birdringing
Reposted by Will Smith
More Mapping the UK's Flat Flies Project results published today with Adrian Smith & @sheldonbirds.bsky.social 212 host-parasite interactions, including 70 not previously reported, & a recent switch to gulls by some Louse Flies, Hippoboscidae. @btobirds.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social
Citizen science reveals host‐switching in louse flies and keds (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) during a period of anthropogenic change
A study of louse flies in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man, and Ireland found 212 different interactions between Hippoboscidae and their hosts, of which 70 were previously unrecorded. No louse flies ...
doi.org
November 1, 2025 at 2:42 PM
More Mapping the UK's Flat Flies Project results published today with Adrian Smith & @sheldonbirds.bsky.social 212 host-parasite interactions, including 70 not previously reported, & a recent switch to gulls by some Louse Flies, Hippoboscidae. @btobirds.bsky.social @dipteristsforum.bsky.social
Reposted by Will Smith
New paper today in Proc B @royalsociety.org. We explored nest architecture in 3,685 species of birds, modelling the multivariate nature of nests, i.e. how shape, location or attachment co-occur. Then we explored how the environment affected nest architecture evolution. Spoilers in the title! 🪺🐦🌍
A wide range of abiotic and biotic variables leaves most variation in bird nest architecture unexplained | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Nests are the locations or containers for offspring, and mediate interactions between
offspring and the environment. However, understanding how environmental factors shape
the evolution of nest archit...
royalsocietypublishing.org
October 29, 2025 at 10:53 AM
New paper today in Proc B @royalsociety.org. We explored nest architecture in 3,685 species of birds, modelling the multivariate nature of nests, i.e. how shape, location or attachment co-occur. Then we explored how the environment affected nest architecture evolution. Spoilers in the title! 🪺🐦🌍
Reposted by Will Smith
Interested in island life and arthropods? There's a new PhD project advertised at the University of Birmingham to study the evolution of 'island syndromes' in a chosen group of island arthropods, with both museum and fieldwork-based research are expected. More details at: centa.ac.uk/studentship/...
2026-B22 The island syndrome in arthropods – CENTA
centa.ac.uk
October 24, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Interested in island life and arthropods? There's a new PhD project advertised at the University of Birmingham to study the evolution of 'island syndromes' in a chosen group of island arthropods, with both museum and fieldwork-based research are expected. More details at: centa.ac.uk/studentship/...
Reposted by Will Smith
New paper out today on hippocampus neuron morphology in homing and feral pigeons. 🧵
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#neuroskyence #neuroethology #anatomy
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#neuroskyence #neuroethology #anatomy
Homing and feral pigeons differ in hippocampal formation neuron size: a Golgi study - Brain Structure and Function
Artificial selection for behavioural traits can significantly affect the anatomy of brain regions related to the behaviour under selection. The homing pigeon (Columba livia) is a prime example of how ...
link.springer.com
October 23, 2025 at 5:27 PM
New paper out today on hippocampus neuron morphology in homing and feral pigeons. 🧵
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#neuroskyence #neuroethology #anatomy
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
#neuroskyence #neuroethology #anatomy
Reposted by Will Smith
Do you like islands? And/or arthropods? Please get in touch with me (m.t.jezierski[at]bham.ac.uk) or another member of the supervisory team!
We will help you study island evolution in arthropods with a (funded) PhD @unibirmingham.bsky.social. 🪲🏝️🦋
centa.ac.uk/studentship/...
*Please share this!*
We will help you study island evolution in arthropods with a (funded) PhD @unibirmingham.bsky.social. 🪲🏝️🦋
centa.ac.uk/studentship/...
*Please share this!*
2026-B22 The island syndrome in arthropods – CENTA
centa.ac.uk
October 21, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Do you like islands? And/or arthropods? Please get in touch with me (m.t.jezierski[at]bham.ac.uk) or another member of the supervisory team!
We will help you study island evolution in arthropods with a (funded) PhD @unibirmingham.bsky.social. 🪲🏝️🦋
centa.ac.uk/studentship/...
*Please share this!*
We will help you study island evolution in arthropods with a (funded) PhD @unibirmingham.bsky.social. 🪲🏝️🦋
centa.ac.uk/studentship/...
*Please share this!*
Reposted by Will Smith
Interested in a PhD in ornithology? Funding available for projects at the interface of ecology, behaviour & evolution from Oct '26 working on long-term population studies of tits at Wytham, based in @biology.ox.ac.uk in the new Life & Mind Building in Oxford
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
October 20, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Interested in a PhD in ornithology? Funding available for projects at the interface of ecology, behaviour & evolution from Oct '26 working on long-term population studies of tits at Wytham, based in @biology.ox.ac.uk in the new Life & Mind Building in Oxford
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Reposted by Will Smith
End of 24th yr of intensive Marsh Tit monitoring at Monks Wood. Similar juv recruitment to recent years (<30), half the number when project started. Some deaths of long-lived adults (5-7 yrs old), but our oldest bird survives (10.5 yrs). Crossbills, Siskins, Redpolls, Skylarks overhead. #ornithology
October 19, 2025 at 3:51 PM
End of 24th yr of intensive Marsh Tit monitoring at Monks Wood. Similar juv recruitment to recent years (<30), half the number when project started. Some deaths of long-lived adults (5-7 yrs old), but our oldest bird survives (10.5 yrs). Crossbills, Siskins, Redpolls, Skylarks overhead. #ornithology
Reposted by Will Smith
Beginner's luck is a thing, and with a balmy autumn night I was quite excited for my 9th ever moth-trapping night. But Clifden Nonpareil was not on the bingo card! Also, Least Carpet, Pink-barred Sallow and Rosy Rustic. #TeamMoth #leptember #Moths @willjsmith.bsky.social
September 30, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Beginner's luck is a thing, and with a balmy autumn night I was quite excited for my 9th ever moth-trapping night. But Clifden Nonpareil was not on the bingo card! Also, Least Carpet, Pink-barred Sallow and Rosy Rustic. #TeamMoth #leptember #Moths @willjsmith.bsky.social
A very kind interpretation of a baby pigeon! Here are some wild Rock Dove chicks, who may not be winning beauty contests... 🫠
(nests visited for ongoing @uniofnottingham.bsky.social research in the Outer Hebrides, and for @btobirds.bsky.social @btoscotland.bsky.social #NestRecordScheme)
(nests visited for ongoing @uniofnottingham.bsky.social research in the Outer Hebrides, and for @btobirds.bsky.social @btoscotland.bsky.social #NestRecordScheme)
September 28, 2025 at 11:06 AM
A very kind interpretation of a baby pigeon! Here are some wild Rock Dove chicks, who may not be winning beauty contests... 🫠
(nests visited for ongoing @uniofnottingham.bsky.social research in the Outer Hebrides, and for @btobirds.bsky.social @btoscotland.bsky.social #NestRecordScheme)
(nests visited for ongoing @uniofnottingham.bsky.social research in the Outer Hebrides, and for @btobirds.bsky.social @btoscotland.bsky.social #NestRecordScheme)
Reposted by Will Smith
🥳New paper out in the Journal of #ornithology
Assignment of wintering Barnacle Geese (Branta leucopsis) to breeding populations using genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphisms
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A nice collaboration between Wageningen University and NIOO-KNAW. 🤝
Assignment of wintering Barnacle Geese (Branta leucopsis) to breeding populations using genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphisms
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A nice collaboration between Wageningen University and NIOO-KNAW. 🤝
September 23, 2025 at 7:02 AM
🥳New paper out in the Journal of #ornithology
Assignment of wintering Barnacle Geese (Branta leucopsis) to breeding populations using genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphisms
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A nice collaboration between Wageningen University and NIOO-KNAW. 🤝
Assignment of wintering Barnacle Geese (Branta leucopsis) to breeding populations using genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphisms
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
A nice collaboration between Wageningen University and NIOO-KNAW. 🤝
Reposted by Will Smith
We're looking for a new postdoc on our new BBSCR grant (Graham Taylor/Tim Guilford/Cait Newport). See link below!
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
September 19, 2025 at 3:25 PM
We're looking for a new postdoc on our new BBSCR grant (Graham Taylor/Tim Guilford/Cait Newport). See link below!
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
Reposted by Will Smith
#BirdStudy welcomes submissions on all aspects of #ornithology, eg. distribution/abundance patterns; movements/dispersal; habitat effects; census, marking & tracking, behaviour; conservation. Main focus Europe, Atlantic, Afro-Palearctic Flyway, N Africa, but useful papers considered from any region.
September 11, 2025 at 12:36 PM
#BirdStudy welcomes submissions on all aspects of #ornithology, eg. distribution/abundance patterns; movements/dispersal; habitat effects; census, marking & tracking, behaviour; conservation. Main focus Europe, Atlantic, Afro-Palearctic Flyway, N Africa, but useful papers considered from any region.
Reposted by Will Smith
Comparing the feral city pigeon with its wild form, Early Career Fellow @willjsmith.bsky.social endeavors to reveal whether feral species are experiencing reverse-domestication or proceeding down a new evolutionary trajectory.
media.leverhulme.ac.uk/feature/wsmith @uniofnottingham.bsky.social
media.leverhulme.ac.uk/feature/wsmith @uniofnottingham.bsky.social
September 11, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Comparing the feral city pigeon with its wild form, Early Career Fellow @willjsmith.bsky.social endeavors to reveal whether feral species are experiencing reverse-domestication or proceeding down a new evolutionary trajectory.
media.leverhulme.ac.uk/feature/wsmith @uniofnottingham.bsky.social
media.leverhulme.ac.uk/feature/wsmith @uniofnottingham.bsky.social
A little write up @leverhulme.ac.uk summarising my research plans @uniofnottingham.bsky.social for the next few years: media.leverhulme.ac.uk/feature/wsmith. 🧬🐦🤓
September 11, 2025 at 10:07 AM
A little write up @leverhulme.ac.uk summarising my research plans @uniofnottingham.bsky.social for the next few years: media.leverhulme.ac.uk/feature/wsmith. 🧬🐦🤓
Reposted by Will Smith
Perceptions of #pigeons are not trivial. How we see them (either as companions or gross rats with wings) shapes the behaviour and #management policies that structure pigeon populations and the #pathogens they carry.
Mumbai: Pigeon feeding ban sparks debate in India - BBC News
Feeding pigeons is common in Indian cities but is now controversial due to rising numbers and health risks.
www.bbc.com
September 2, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Perceptions of #pigeons are not trivial. How we see them (either as companions or gross rats with wings) shapes the behaviour and #management policies that structure pigeon populations and the #pathogens they carry.
It's always exciting to get reports of the wild Rock Doves that @jezierskimt.bsky.social and I study in Uist. 'Green SI' is one of my favourites. It has been re-sighted 53 times since being ringed in 2022. It is a big fan of garden bird-feeders, and sees meadow-based foraging as too much effort.
September 2, 2025 at 3:52 PM
It's always exciting to get reports of the wild Rock Doves that @jezierskimt.bsky.social and I study in Uist. 'Green SI' is one of my favourites. It has been re-sighted 53 times since being ringed in 2022. It is a big fan of garden bird-feeders, and sees meadow-based foraging as too much effort.
Reposted by Will Smith
A good 6 hours and 6 minutes left to apply! Don't be shy.
Join us as Assistant #Curator of Vertebrates @ 🏴NMS! Large collections of #birds & #mammals + very active specimen prep = cool place! The ad doesn't say, but I say there's a good chance of prolongation beyond 1y. Hurry up and apply/spread the word: careers.nms.ac.uk/job/748553!
🪶🧪 #museumjobs #job
🪶🧪 #museumjobs #job
August 31, 2025 at 4:54 PM
A good 6 hours and 6 minutes left to apply! Don't be shy.