iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Leonor Silva de Mattos

The Corvid Corner @the-corvidcorner.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Fascinating findings coming from from @lucahahn.bsky.social et al, opening up exciting avenues for further research on social relationships in corvids. I’ll be following their progress closely. Paper released 7/10/2026, DOI 10.1098/rspb.2026.1462 #Jackdaws #Corvids #AnimalCognition

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Reply from Natural England received. Now to make sense of it all. 🤓

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Joined LSE’s event online this evening: “Can we talk to animals?” with Julie Elie, Irene Pepperberg and Yossi Yovel, chaired by Jonathan Birch. Loved hearing about the methods used to learn animal communication and cognition. How we investigate is just as interesting as what we find!

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Received the National Grid EIRR response today. First entry on the 2025 list: rooks nests taken down… Locations redacted to protect some species (and I fully agree with that). A lot of documents attached (I asked for the last 3 years) so my weekend is now done…! No reply from Natural England yet.

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

‘Although sex differences in animal sociality are often thought of as largely fixed, our findings reveal a dynamic pattern in which sex differences in dominance emerge with ageing and are context-dependent, varying across breeding seasons.’ - this paper confirming my intuition...

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Data collection, day 1. Park was crowded with people and football, so no crows in sight for hours. I went to see Cronus & Rhea instead (yes they all have names). 6 years on, these 2 are the most loving/successful pair I know. ❤️ #crows #research #carrioncrows #urbanwildlife #cronusandrhea

Me sitting down, taking notes in the main park.

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Reposted by Leonor Silva de Mattos

European Conference on Behavioural Biology @ecbb2026.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

#ECBB2026 We hope everyone had a fantastic time over these past four days! We would like to take a moment to thank our volunteers for their outstanding help and our organising committee for their monumental efforts! See you in Dublin for #ECBB2028

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Reposted by Leonor Silva de Mattos

ASAB Education Committee @asabeducation.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Design a poster that explains an interesting animal behaviour. Your infographic will be inspired by observation of animals in real life or online. Entry age categories: 7-10 years 11-14 years 15-21 years More information and the entry form: www.asab.org/education-news Spread the word #ECBB2026

Poster advertising the ASAB infographic competition 2026

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

The start of this talk really hit home for me. My career path has been unusual, to say the least, and this was the motivation I didn’t know I needed.

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Loved this plenary! From birds and mongooses to fish, human-generated noise can interfere with communication and alter wildlife behaviour and biology. Our acoustic footprint can be harmful. The closing message was hopeful: don’t let negativity take over, believe you can make a difference. #ECBB2026

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

New research shows we’re more morally accepting of animal exploitation when framed as part of our own culture. “Tradition” can therefore influence how we evaluate [animal] harm. Timely, as debate for/against #TheGugaHunt intensifies, with some positive news of a potential block released today.

Screenshot of the Sage Journals webpage displaying an open-access research article titled Selective Moral Leniency Toward Culturally Embedded Animal Exploitation: The Role of Identity and Ideology, first published online on 23 July 2026. The visible abstract states that although concern for animals is widely endorsed, people tend to make exceptions for animal exploitation rooted in their own cultural traditions. Across studies in the United States, Norway, Spain and Australia, participants consistently judged practices from their own country more favourably than similar practices from other countries, suggesting that cultural identity and ideology influence moral judgements about animal exploitation.

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

The garden is so alive! I really love the Summer ☀️

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

When release is no longer possible, the focus should not just be on what was lost, but what kind of life is still possible beyond that loss… medium.com/@thecorvidco...

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

At the UH learning and teaching conference today! My video presentation output, done with our Supported Distance Leaning partners, was well received (last picture). Sessions were engaging with lots of good practice. A very productive day and always in great company! #academiclife #UHLTC2026

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

First pear in 5 years. I must have done something right this year.

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Food often sits at the centre of how we connect with birds, but is it really the most important part of the relationships we build with our garden’s wildlife? A short reflection: medium.com/@thecorvidco...

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

My article about birds’ olfaction abilities has been published by The Quantastic Journal on Medium. A bit of a long read, but hope you enjoy it. thequantasticjournal.com/the-forgotte...

thequantasticjournal.com

The Forgotten Sense: Can Birds Smell?

For a long time, we assumed birds were anosmic, that their worlds were solely shaped by sight and sound. But what if that’s only part of…

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Look at that polypropylene (plastic) to start with. 🙄

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Nests are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, so this highlights a gap between legal protections, general licenses & how they operate in practice, particularly where a species ecology is not fully understood or considered. Rooks need more protections. #rooks #decline #corvusfrugilegus

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Rooks are amber listed in the UK, red listed in Wales, and vulnerable in some parts of Europe, but still on general licences, which allow their control at any time of the year. As colony-based birds, culling adults during the breeding season will affect multiple nests at once.

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

More data showing consistent declines in rooks (Corvus Frugilegus). This points to wider pressures in rural systems: habitat loss, agricultural intensification, and reduced invertebrate availability - the same drivers affecting other declining bird groups. But that’s not all…

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Use a hose with pressure on to move the old water out. Mix 1 part of vinegar to 9 of water, scrub well and leave it for 10 minutes. Rinse it all out (same method) and let it dry in the sun/air. Soaps strip birds’ oils and bleach can be dangerous if not well diluted - fine for feeders though.

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

I would love to hear from my fellow rehabbers about this - if you sex your disabled corvids, what’s your male/female ratio? Genuinely curious. Am I the only one with a disproportionate amount of males in permanent care? medium.com/@thecorvidco... #animalbehaviour #corvids #wildlife #reflections

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

Attending “Social by Nature – From Animal Minds to Inclusive Science Communities” with Prof. Claudia Wascher (Anglia Ruskin University) for #WomenInScienceDay. Crows/ravens, cognition & communication — and inclusive research cultures. 11 Feb 2026 • 18:00 GMT • free (online & Cambridge). Links ⬇️

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

New article: “A crow call is never just a sound.” A quick tour of crow communication through an “Umwelt” lens: why the same call can function differently depending on circumstances, and why we should be cautious with simple translations. medium.com/@thecorvidco...

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Leonor Silva de Mattos @leonorsmattos.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Define yourself in 4 pictures. I’ll go first…

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