ManyBirds Project

A multi-site collaborative Open Science approach to avian cognition and behaviour research

ManyBirds Project

A multi-site collaborative Open Science approach to avian cognition and behaviour research

Overview

ManyBirds is a multi-site collaborative Open Science approach that aims to provide new insight into the evolution of avian cognition and behavior through large-scale comparative studies, following the lead of exemplary ManyPrimates, ManyBabies and ManyDogs projects. We are open to collaboration across all sites, including labs, zoos, field and home.

TWITTER OPEN-CALL for study 1

MB aims to increase species & sample representation, across lab/zoo/field/homes. Now inviting collaborators for Study 1 on neophobia in birds, building on related @CurrentBiology paper in corvids (sciencedirect.com/science/articl). Testing is quick & minimal labour. 2/

ManyBirds approach

What guides us

Collaborative

Collaborative studies enable large-scale comparisons of species and individuals, a prerequisite to study why different cognitive abilities may have evolved.

Open-science

Open Science practices ensure wide accessibility, as transparency and pre-registration is necessary for effective collaborations.

Comparative

Comparative studies allow for a wider focus on the evolution of avian cognition and behaviour in relation to socio-ecological factors as well as phylogenetic, developmental and longitudinal approaches.

How does it work ?

ManyBirds infrastructure and collaboration

We are establishing an infrastructure within the ManyBirds framework to facilitate related avian research, including a website, mailing list, open repository and slack channels. This framework includes the use of pre-registrations, pre-prints, code of practice and project policies (e.g. ethics, authorship, data sharing), study protocols, coding guides, analysis plans and manuscript writing, with a focus on Open Science practices. 

Project 1 : Neophobia in birds

For Study 1, we have several confirmed international collaborators, including with 10 corvid lab leaders (Miller et al, 2021), and are in the process of inviting and recruiting new collaborators. In general, we invite collaborations relating to data collection, as well as various other potential contributions, such as experimental design, data analysis and manuscript writing.

Deadline for data collection and submission : 16th April 2023

GET INVOLVED

CORE TEAM

ManyBirds is led by a core team of researchers, with separate specific study teams formed to lead on each study. If you are interested in collaborating or would like more information about the ManyBirds Study 1 on neophobia in birds, please review our projects, Sign up documents or contact us at: manybirdsproject1@gmail.com.

Next Events

Talk at International Society for Behavioural Ecology

Talk at International Society for Behavioural Ecology

Date : August 2022Location: Sweden/ VirtualSpeaker: Rachael MillerSubject: ManyBirds: an Open Science collaborative approach to avian cognition and behaviour research
Read More
Talk at Animal Behavior Society

Talk at Animal Behavior Society

Date : July 2022 Location: Costa Rica Speaker: Megan Lambert, Stephan Reber, Vedrana Slipogor, Claudia Mettke-Hofmann, Emma Arbeau, Elias Garcia-Pelegrin,...
Read More
Talk at Animal Welfare Group Nigeria

Talk at Animal Welfare Group Nigeria

Date : July 2022 Location: Virtual  Speaker: Rachael Miller Subject: ManyBirds: anOpen Sciencecollaborativeapproach to aviancognition and behaviour researc Email Mailing list...
Read More

PUBLICATIONS OF 2021

2021

M, Lambert; S, Reber; E, Garcia-Pelegrin; B, Farrar; R, Miller

ManyBirds: A multi-site collaborative approach to avian cognition and behaviour research. Journal Article

In: Animal Behavior & Cognition, 2021.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

R, Miller; M, Lambert; A, Frohnweiser; K, Brecht; T, Bugnyar; I, Crampton; E, Garcia-Pelegrin; K, Gould; A, Greggor; E, Izawa; D, Kelly; Z, Li; Y, Luo; L, Luong; J, Massen; A, Nieder; S, Reber; M, Schiestl; P, Sepehri; J, Stevens; AH, Taylor; L, Wang; LM, Wolff; Y, Zhang; NS, Clayton

Related paper : Socio-ecological correlates of neophobia in corvids. Journal Article

In: Current Biology, 2021.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX