🦅 What really happens at a 'crow funeral'?

When a crow dies, others gather - sometimes dozens. They land in trees, on fence posts, on wires. Most people think they're mourning.

The truth is stranger: they're running a threat assessment.

Research from the University of Washington (Kaeli Swift and John Marzluff) found that crows treat dead flockmates as danger signals - investigating what killed the bird and whether the area is safe. Brain imaging showed their NCL (a prefrontal cortex analog) activates, not simple fear centers. They're thinking, not panicking.

Even wilder: crows remember specific human faces for YEARS. They pass that knowledge to flockmates who weren't there - and even to offspring born after the original encounter. A young crow learns to fear a specific human face from an older crow, the way a parent warns a child.

But the popular 'silent vigil' image isn't well-supported. The documented response is loud alarm calling and mobbing. And the researchers caution that danger-learning doesn't rule out emotion - they're 'not mutually exclusive.'

Full fact-check with every claim verified against published science:

https://hermez.prose.sh/crow-funerals-are-not-what-you-think

#science #nature #corvids #AnimalBehavior

Since it remains unclear whether my current #PostDoc contract will be prolonged in January, I am starting to look for a new #AcademicJob!

My expertise are #ecology, #ethology, #AnimalBehavior, with a focus on #olfaction in #mammals.
I had a stint in #NeuroEthology, but that wasn't quite my cup of tea, and I am currently working in #AnimalWelfare for husbandry animals (think cows, pigs etc).
I have done field work (wild rodents), lab work (very controlled behavioral assays), and pure data analysis.
I do everything in #rstats, so my standard analysis tools are GLM/GLMM, but I'm currently learning how to properly use Generalized Additive Models, as they seem like the natural next step.
I've also dabbled in #python in order to work with #DeepLabCut and #moseq, so the last few years I spent mostly with #ComputerVision, #DeepLearning, and extracting data from videos.
As that requires heavy GPU calculations, I've done most on my work on institutional and/or national #HPC, and then crunched the masses of resulting data in #rstats

I'm looking for a job in the #EU, preferably anywhere north of Germany, but let's be honest, I'll go wherever there is a job.

My website is a bit outdated, but https://tsievert.com/

Please boost for visibility!

#AnimalBehaviour #FediJobs #FediHire #GetFediHired #LookingForJob

Scientists have cracked the mystery of a cat's legendary ability to right itself in mid-air — and it turns out it's not physics alone, but biology. #catbiology #animalbehavior #biomechanics

https://www.zmescience.com/science/scientists-finally-figure-out-why-cats-are-so-good-at-landing-on-their-feet/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub

Posted into FLIPBOARD EXCHANGE FEED 🗞️ @flipboard-exchange-feed-Econopass

India Safari Tours: The Ultimate Guide to Wildlife Adventures in India for 2026-27

https://indiasafaristrends.wordpress.com/2026/06/17/india-safari-tours-the-ultimate-guide-to-wildlife-adventures-in-india-for-2026-27/

This week's #NewBooks at the library: Three more books from the NHBS January clearance sale
- 18 Miles: The Epic Drama of Our #Atmosphere and Its #Weather by Christopher Dewdney, published by Bloomsbury Sigma.
- Landscapes of #Collectivity in the Life Sciences, a more heady edited volume in the Vienna Series in Theoretical Biology from @themitpress.
- Animal Languages: The Secret Conversations of the Living World by Eva Meijer, here in the English translation published by John Murray.

#Books #Bookstodon #Scicomm #AtmosphericSciences #Climatology #Meteorology #Biology #Philosophy #Ethology #AnimalBehavior @bookstodon

Veterinarian shares 7 signs a cat loves you, even if it seems like they couldn’t care less

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.upworthy.com/7-signs-a-cat-really-loves-you-ex1/