In recent years, there have been over 50 comparative analyses carried out in which social or
ecological variables have been used to explain variation in whole brain size, or a part …

Despite tremendous efforts in the past decades, relationships among main avian lineages
remain heavily debated without a clear resolution. Discrepancies have been attributed to …

Social play has been described in many animals. However, much of this social behaviour
among birds, particularly in adults, is still relatively unexplored in terms of the environmental …

Relative brain size has long been considered a reflection of cognitive capacities and has
played a fundamental role in develo** core theories in the life sciences. Yet, the notion …

Overriding motor impulses instigated by salient perceptual stimuli represent a fundamental
inhibitory skill. Such motor self-regulation facilitates more rational behaviour, as it brings …

The widely held hypothesis that enlarged brains have evolved as an adaptation to cope with
novel or altered environmental conditions lacks firm empirical support. Here, we test this …

Urban development is increasing across the globe. This poses a major threat to biodiversity,
which is often relatively poor in towns and cities. Despite much interest in identifying species' …

Aim As urban landscapes expand, shifts in biodiversity are occurring. This is leading
biogeographers and ecologists to consider human‐dominated landscapes in their current …

Relative brain sizes in birds can rival those of primates, but large-scale patterns and drivers
of avian brain evolution remain elusive. Here, we explore the evolution of the fundamental …

Trait databases have become important resources for large-scale comparative studies in
ecology and evolution. Here we introduce the AnimalTraits database, a curated database of …