ManyBirds Studies/ Papers

Publication: ManyBirds Project et al. (2025). A large-scale study across the avian clade identifies ecological drivers of neophobia. PLOS Biology

Abstract: Neophobia, or aversion to novelty, is important for adaptability and survival as it influences the ways in which animals navigate risk and interact with their environments. Across individuals, species and other taxonomic levels, neophobia is known to vary considerably, but our understanding of the wider ecological drivers of neophobia is hampered by a lack of comparative multispecies studies using standardized methods. Here, we utilized the ManyBirds Project, a Big Team Science large-scale collaborative open science framework, to pool efforts and resources of 129 collaborators at 77 institutions from 24 countries worldwide across six continents. We examined both difference scores (between novel object test and control conditions) and raw data of latency to touch familiar food in the presence (test) and absence (control) of a novel object among 1,439 subjects from 136 bird species across 25 taxonomic orders incorporating lab, field, and zoo sites. We first demonstrated that consistent differences in neophobia existed among individuals, among species, and among other taxonomic levels in our dataset, rejecting the null hypothesis that neophobia is highly plastic at all taxonomic levels with no evidence for evolutionary divergence. We then tested for effects of ecological factors on neophobia, including diet, sociality, habitat, and range, while accounting for phylogeny. We found that (i) species with more specialist diets were more neophobic than those with more generalist diets, providing support for the Neophobia Threshold Hypothesis; (ii) migratory species were also more neophobic than nonmigratory species, which supports the Dangerous Niche Hypothesis. Our study shows that the evolution of avian neophobia has been shaped by ecological drivers and demonstrates the potential of Big Team Science to advance our understanding of animal behavior.

ManyBirds Collaborations

Publication: Alessandroni N, Altschul D, Bazhydai M, Brosnan SF, Byers-Heinlein K, Call J, Chittka L, Elsherif M, Espinosa J, Freeman M, Gioneska B, Gunturkun O, Huber L, Krasheninnikova A, Mazza V, Miller R, Moreau D, Nawroth C, Pronizuis E, Ruiz-Fernandez S, Schwing R, Slipogor V, Visser I, Vonk J, Yeager J, Zettersten M & Pretot L (2024) Challenges and promises of big team comparative cognition. Nature Human Behaviourhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-024-02081-6.

Abstract: Big team science has the potential to reshape comparative cognition research, but its implementation — especially in making fair comparisons between species, handling multisite variation and reaching researcher consensus — poses daunting challenges. Here, we propose solutions and discuss how big team science can transform the field.

ManyBirds Collaborations

Publication: Alessandroni N, Altschul D, Bazhydai M, Byers-Heinlein K, Elsherif M, Gjoneska N, Huber H, Mazza V, Miller R, Nawroth C, Pronizius E, Qadri MAJ, Slipogor V, Soderstrom M, Stevens JR, Visser I, Williams M, Zettersten M & Prétôt, L. (2024). Comparative Cognition Needs Big Team Science: How Large-Scale Collaborations Will Unlock the Future of the Field. Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews, 19, 67-72.

Abstract: Comparative cognition research has been largely constrained to isolated facilities, small teams, and a limited number of species. This has led to challenges such as conflicting conceptual definitions and underpowered designs. Here, we explore how Big Team Science (BTS) may remedy these issues. Specifically, we identify and describe four key BTS advantages – increasing sample size and diversity, enhancing task design, advancing theories, and improving welfare and conservation efforts. We conclude that BTS represents a transformative shift capable of advancing research in the field.

ManyBirds: A multi-site collaborative Open Science approach to avian cognition and behavior research

Publication : Lambert M, Reber S, Garcia-Pelegrin E, Farrar B, Miller R (2022). ManyBirds: A multi-site collaborative approach to avian cognition and behaviour research. Animal Behavior & Cognition 9(1), 133-152

Abstract: Comparative cognitive and behavior research aims to investigate cognitive evolution by comparing performance in different species to understand how these abilities have evolved. Ideally, this requires large and diverse samples; however, these can be difficult to obtain by single labs or institutions, leading to potential reproducibility and generalization issues with small, less representative samples. To help mitigate these issues, we are establishing a multi-site collaborative Open Science approach called ManyBirds, with the aim of providing 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. Here, we outline a) the replicability crisis and why we should study birds, including the origin of modern birds, avian brains and convergent evolution of cognition; b) the current state of the avian cognition field, including a ‘snapshot’ review; c) the ManyBirds project, with plans, infrastructure, limitations, implications and future directions. In sharing this process, we hope that this may be useful for other researchers in devising similar projects in other taxa, like non-avian reptiles or mammals, and to encourage further collaborations with ManyBirds and related ManyX projects. Ultimately, we hope to promote collaboration between ManyX projects to allow for wider investigation of the evolution of cognition across all animals, including potentially humans.

Socio-ecological correlates of neophobia in corvids

Publication: Miller R, Lambert M, Frohnweiser A, Brecht K, Bugnyar T, Crampton I, Garcia-Pelegrin E, Gould K, Greggor A, Izawa E, Kelly D, Li Z, Luo Y, Luong L, Massen J, Nieder A, Reber S, Schiestl M, Sepehri P, Stevens J, Taylor AH, Wang L, Wolff LM, Zhang Y, Clayton NS (2022). Socio-ecological correlates of neophobia in corvids. Current Biology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.10.045

Abstract: Behavioral responses to novelty, including fear and subsequent avoidance of novel stimuli, i.e., neophobia, determine how animals interact with their environment. Neophobia aids in navigating risk and impacts on adaptability and survival. There is variation within and between individuals and species; however, lack of large-scale, comparative studies critically limits investigation of the socio-ecological drivers of neophobia. In this study, we tested responses to novel objects and food (alongside familiar food) versus a baseline (familiar food alone) in 10 corvid species (241 subjects) across 10 labs worldwide. There were species differences in the latency to touch familiar food in the novel object and novel food conditions relative to the baseline. Four of seven socio-ecological factors influenced object neophobia: (1) use of urban habitat (versus not), (2) territorial pair versus family group sociality, (3) large versus small maximum flock size, and (4) moderate versus specialized caching (whereas range, hunting live animals, and genus did not), while only maximum flock size influenced food neophobia. We found that, overall, individuals were temporally and contextually repeatable (i.e., consistent) in their novelty responses in all conditions, indicating neophobia is a stable behavioral trait. With this study, we have established a network of corvid researchers, demonstrating potential for further collaboration to explore the evolution of cognition in corvids and other bird species. These novel findings enable us, for the first time in corvids, to identify the socio-ecological correlates of neophobia and grant insight into specific elements that drive higher neophobic responses in this avian family group.

Publication: Garcia-Pelegrin E, Clark F, Miller R (2022). Increasing the accessibility of cognitive research for zoos. Zoo Biology https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.21674

Abstract: Animal cognition covers various mental processes including perception, learning, decision‐making and memory, and animal behavior is often used as a proxy for measuring cognition. Animal cognition/behavior research has multiple benefits; it provides fundamental knowledge of animal biology and evolution but can also have applied conservation and welfare applications. Zoos provide an excellent yet relatively untapped resource for animal cognition research, because they house a wide variety of species—many of which are under threat—and allow close observation and relatively high experimental control compared to the wild. Multi‐zoo collaboration leads to increased sample size and species representation, which in turn leads to more robust science. However, there are salient challenges associated with zoo‐ based cognitive research, which are animal‐based (e.g., small sample sizes at single zoos, untrained/unhabituated subjects, side effects) and human‐based (e.g., time restrictions, safety concerns, and perceptions of animals interacting with unnatural technology or apparatus). We aim to increase the understanding and subsequent uptake of animal cognition research in zoos, by transparently outlining the main benefits and challenges. Importantly, we use our own research (1) a study on novelty responses in hornbills, and (2) a multi‐site collaboration called the “ManyBirds” Project to demonstrate how challenges may be overcome. These potential options include using “drop and go” apparatuses that require no training, close human contact or animal separation. This study is aimed at zoo animal care and research staff, as well as external researchers interested in zoo‐based studies.