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Michał Jezierski

@jezierskimt.bsky.social
455 followers 310 following 24 posts

Biogeographer 🌏 mostly working on evolution of island organisms 🏝️(and mostly birds 🦉). @leverhulme.ac.uk Early Career Fellow at @unibirmingham.bsky.social.

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Reposted by Michał Jezierski
Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
It's nice that this little note (first published in May) is an editor's highlight in Ibis. A fun mini-project (following on from a side-quest to find 'doves with white bums' among millions of grey-arsed ones, whilst on holiday on Fuerteventura....) @jezierskimt.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/ibi....
doi.org
Feral Barbary dove phenotypes are lost following Eurasian Collared Dove invasions
Interactions between different non-native species can have positive and negative effects on their invasion potential and ecological impact. Here, we infer interbreeding of feral African Collared Dove...
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Michał Jezierski @jezierskimt.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Humans changed islands, not just holiday destinations, but home to 10% of humans, including us here 🇬🇧. What is the ecology of islands today, and how are island organisms adapting? Neatly summarised by @ferransayol.bsky.social, our new paper lead by Tom Matthews on the 'Anthropocene' on islands.
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Thanks @bou.org.uk for the opportunity to write a bit about our ongoing PIGEON SCIENCE 🕊️ including work funded by @btobirds.bsky.social @scottishbirding.bsky.social @britishbirds.bsky.social 🐦
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
A cool chicken paper 🐓. Such work benefits from having healthy comparator populations of domesticated species' wild forms (in this case, Red Junglefowl). We wrote about this: doi.org/10.1093/orni.... It's part of why @jezierskimt.bsky.social and I visit Uist regularly, to study the wild pigeons.
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
It was very nice to be asked by @theconversation.com to write about this fascinating new research. Pigeons in Bronze Age Cyprus! Big congrats to the authors. Excited to see what more we can learn about the early stages of the human-pigeon relationship… doi.org/10.64628/AB....
doi.org
The pigeon fanciers of the Bronze Age
Why pigeons deserve more respect.
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Michał Jezierski @jezierskimt.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Our (Jenny Dunn, Carolina Chagas, @willjsmith.bsky.social) paper on the evolution of island Wrens is finally out @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social! We describe the evolution of island gigantism in the St Kilda and Shetland subspecies. academic.oup.com/evolinnean/a...
St Kilda Wren perched on a lichen-covered rock, part of a dry stone wall on Hirta, St Kilda.
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Nice that this has come out as we are in Uist, working with wild Rock Doves. It's great to get to know individuals, following them through their lives out in the meadows, ruins, and caves. If you live on, or visit, the islands, please keep an eye out for ringed doves to help us to learn more 🕊️
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Jente Ottenburghs | Avian Hybrids @jenteo.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
🥳 New paper in Ornithological Applications! @amornith.bsky.social Research and conservation priorities for domesticated birds’ wild counterparts academic.oup.com/condor/advan... A wonderful collaboration with @willjsmith.bsky.social, Philip Lavrestsky and Eben Gering. #ornithology
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Domestic birds play major roles in our lives - so it's weird that we often lack basic knowledge of their wild forms, e.g. Red Junglefowl 🐓 / Rock Doves 🕊️! Eben Gering, @jenteo.bsky.social 🪿, Philip Lavretsky 🦆, and I discuss research + conservation priorities #Ornithology. doi.org/10.1093/orni...
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
This beautiful Song Thrush, caught today in Uist (whilst mist netting for @jezierskimt.bsky.social's island bird research), is of the 'hebridensis' subspecies. I can't see any differences cf. those I'm used to seeing in England...? Open to suggestions of features I've not noticed... 🤔 #Ornithology
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British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) @bou.org.uk · 04/05/2026
EARLY VIEW in IBIS Feral Barbary dove phenotypes are lost following Eurasian Collared Dove invasions | onlinelibrary.wiley.... William J. Smith, Michał T. Jezierski, Hein van Grouw | #ornithology 🪶
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Whilst on holiday in Fuerteventura, @jezierskimt.bsky.social and I noticed that many visiting birders report 'African Collared Doves'. But we saw only Eurasian birds, or probable hybrids. With Hein van Grouw, we did a mini study exploring this 🕊️: doi.org/10.1111/ibi.... #Ornithology @bou.org.uk
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Ana V. Leitão @anavleitao.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
New work out: Predation and the Evolution of Island Bird Plumage Colouration: Experimental Insights from Island and Mainland Environments academic.oup.com/jeb/article-...
academic.oup.com
Predation and the Evolution of Island Bird Plumage Colouration: Experimental Insights from Island and Mainland Environments
Abstract. Islands serve as natural laboratories for exploring evolutionary processes, often fostering unique species through isolation and distinct ecologi
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
It's been great to help out on the @uniofnottingham.bsky.social undergraduate field course in Portugal. Lots of very cool birds caught, all contributing to a long-running study of their feather mites. This work has involved generations of Nottingham students, over decades! #Ornithology 🐦‍⬛
HoopoeWaxbillWoodchat ShrikeIberian Magpie
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Richard K Broughton @richardkbroughton.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
New issue of #BirdStudy now online: www.tandfonline.com/toc/tbis20/c... White Stork demographics Automated detection of seabirds White-tailed Eagle dispersal Sedge Warbler migration Wintering raptors in Greece Container colour selection Hobby movements Nesting Black-necked Grebes #ornithology
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British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) @bou.org.uk · 09/04/2026
🎉 Congratulations to Will Smith for his highly-commended talk at #BOU2026 last week Will received an @nhbs.bsky.social voucher for his talk 'Use of anthropogenic landscapes in wild Rock Doves' #ornithology 🪶
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
First Rock Dove chicks of 2026, ringed in a derelict building in Uist @jezierskimt.bsky.social. They already have their white bum patches, but there's a while to go until they lose they (gross?) yellow fluff 🐣. Hopefully we will see them later this year, and find out where they've dispersed to...
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
vs wild Rock Doves from our study population in Uist, Outer Hebrides - with 'blue' colour, 'bar' pattern, 'white' rump, and 'wildtype' eye. In most feral populations, only a minority of individuals have this combination of phenotypes. @jezierskimt.bsky.social @uniofnottingham.bsky.social
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Love seeing feral pigeon variation...surely the most extensive of any wild bird! How amazing that they thrive in the concrete jungle. Here are some examples from across the UK, being studied for projects supported by @gensocuk.bsky.social @leverhulme.ac.uk @britishecologicalsociety.org
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Here is a new year read for pigeon lovers! 🕊️🧬 I've written a little piece @theconversation.com about our work in Scotland studying wild Rock Doves: theconversation.com/what-ive-lea...
theconversation.com
What I’ve learned from studying the wild pigeon
The wild rock dove is little understood and largely overlooked by scientists.
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Interesting new paper, reviewing past work on Rock Dove navigation: doi.org/10.4081/rio..... We published a small GPS-tagging project (using Scottish doves) earlier this year, as a bit of a pilot study (doi.org/10.1093/orni...). There is loads more to learn about these birds! 🕊️🔭
doi.org
On the orientation and homing abilities of wild Rock Doves (Columba livia livia Gmelin): a review | Rivista Italiana di Ornitologia
The scientific journal Rivista Italiana di Ornitologia - Research in Ornithology (RIO) publishes original articles and short notes covering all major topics of ornithology twice yearly.
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
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
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Ana V. Leitão @anavleitao.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
New work out from our @islandbirdproject.bsky.social team lead by @raquelponti.bsky.social We will be presenting this at the upcoming conference #BOUasm25 "A day at the museum: collections-based ornithological research in a changing world" on BlueSky, 18th of Nov.
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Royal Society Publishing @royalsocietypublishing.org · 04/11/2025
New research from #ProcB: A wide range of abiotic and biotic variables leaves most variation in bird nest architecture unexplained buff.ly/eRawojZ | #AnimalBehaviour #Ecology #Evolution
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Michał Jezierski @jezierskimt.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
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! 🪺🐦🌍
royalsocietypublishing.org
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...
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BES Macro @besmacro.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
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/...
centa.ac.uk
2026-B22 The island syndrome in arthropods – CENTA
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Michał Jezierski @jezierskimt.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
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!*
centa.ac.uk
2026-B22 The island syndrome in arthropods – CENTA
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Michał Jezierski @jezierskimt.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
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
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
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)
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
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. 🧬🐦🤓
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Leverhulme Trust @leverhulme.ac.uk · 11/09/2025
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
Left: A wild rock dove perched in a ruined building, Right: A feral pigeon captured in hand.
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Reed Warbler range expansion paper just out, led by the amazing Nora Bergman 🧬🪶 with @informedbirds.bsky.social @katjaronka.bsky.social @fishcongen.bsky.social @rytikerttunen.bsky.social @frodefossoy.bsky.social and others doi.org/10.1111/mec.70077
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St Kilda World Heritage Site NTS @stkildawhs.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
Shovelers are a relatively familiar sight in many parts of the UK, but they rarely visit #StKilda. This female found by @n-t-s.bsky.social Ranger Sue yesterday is only the 5th island record and first since 2011. Great find, Sue! @hebridesbirds.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social
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St Kilda World Heritage Site NTS @stkildawhs.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
Delighted for wren researcher Michał @jezierskimt.bsky.social yesterday finding St Kilda's 9th Rustic Bunting, and first in 25 years! Amazing to see this eastern vagrant hopping about in the Village sunshine. @hebridesbirds.bsky.social @birdguides.bsky.social @scottishbirding.bsky.social
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
We've just had a brief visit to Uist to check in on the Rock Dove study population. A few (cute?) squabs ringed, and a nice selection of adults re-encountered through colour ring sightings. They seem to be having a good breeding season this spring 🐦🧬 @jezierskimt.bsky.social
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
This March, we've ringed the 1000th Rock Dove since @jezierskimt.bsky.social and I began monitoring them in Uist in July 2019. We also re-captured a (now a bit elderly, but thriving) dove first ringed during that trip. Lots of great data collected on overwinter survival and individual condition. 🕊️🪶
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Robin S Mehlhausen-Franks @rsmehlhausenfranks.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Sometimes a pigeon isn't actually a pigeon:
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
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
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Evolutionary Journal of the Linnean Society @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
It's #DarwinDay! What better way to celebrate than announcing our latest 📣Call for Papers📣 focused on Island Evolution! Read this thread to find out more (1/4) 👇🧪🌍 Deadline: 5th December 2025 academic.oup.com/evolinnean/p... @linneansociety.bsky.social #Evolution #CallForPapers #Islands
academic.oup.com
Evolution on Islands: from genomes to communities
Call for papers “…it is not too much to say that when we have mastered the difficulties presented by the peculiarities of island life we shall find it comparat
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Catherine Sheard @sheardcat.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Registration is OPEN for #BESMacro2025, the best conference in town. This year we're in York: 10-11 July main conference, 9 July pre-conference scicomm workshop. If you do macroecology or macroevolution, please join us! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bes-macro-...
eventbrite.co.uk
BES Macro 2025
A British Ecological Society specialist group conference for researchers in macroecology and/or macroevolution at any academic career stage.
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American Ornithological Society @amornith.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Register for our next Student Research Grant Seminar on 2/3/25 at Noon ET, with Michał Jezierski, Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow, University of Birmingham: "Investigating the island syndrome in the St. Kilda Wren" Details & Registration: americanornithology.org/professional... #AOS_SRGS
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
The new @ibisjournal.bsky.social British List update formalises the fact that UK Golden Pheasants are extinct as a self-sustaining wild entity (doi.org/10.1111/ibi....). This follows our recent study, and lots of time spent in the woods with these beautiful birds: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
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Kai Caspar @nomascus.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
The first @themanybirds.bsky.social study on neophobia has finally been released as a preprint! Together with 120+ collaborators, we studied avoidance behavior in 136 bird species, revealing both phylogenetic and ecological signatures. Very proud to be involved! 🧪🪶 doi.org/10.31219/osf...
Phylogenetic tree of the 136 studied avian species with neophobia scores mapped onto it.
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British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) @bou.org.uk · 10/12/2024
Use of anthropogenic landscapes in a wild Columba livia (Rock Dove) population | doi.org/10.1093/orni... | Ornithology | #ornithology 🪶
doi.org
pendingpublications
Pending Publication
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Much of our knowledge about bird movements comes from studies of domestic pigeons. With funding from @britishbirds.bsky.social @scottishbirding.bsky.social @btobirds.bsky.social, we carried out a small pilot study, GPS tracking their wild Rock Dove cousins. #ornithology. doi.org/10.1093/orni...
Catching Rock Doves in Uist.GPS-tagged Rock Dove.GPS-tagged Rock Dove.Uist landscape.
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Will Smith @willjsmith.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Hi, I’m Will and I'm a biologist mainly working with Rock Doves (the wild form of the domestic/feral pigeon) in the Outer Hebrides 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. I’m currently a post-doc in Helsinki, where I study Reed Warbler genomics 🧬 and Cuckoo brood parasitism. I am also very interested in the UK’s non-native birds.
Golden Pheasant being ringed in Breckland as part of a research project studying these birds in a 'naturalised' context.A Rock Dove being ringed for research in the Outer Hebrides.Reed Warbler nest being monitored in Helsinki.
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Michał Jezierski @jezierskimt.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
Oh well, if we are all doing it 🤷
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