Inlay

Profile

Will Smith

Evolution at the wild-domestic interface ⛰️🏙️ I study Rock Doves (doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.01.065) in the Outer Hebrides. @leverhulme.ac.uk Early Career Fellow at the University of Nottingham https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=UW64SScAAAAJ&hl

St Kilda Wrens weigh ~14g (large birds >16g!). 7-11g is usual for mainland GB/continental Wrens. So this subspecies can weigh the same as some Great Tits or Blackcaps. GINORMOUS! Congrats @jezierskimt.bsky.social on the paper! #ornithology doi.org/10.1093/evol...

14d

Uist's wild Rock Doves seem to be having a solid breeding season so far, with lots of nests (which is good, since they had quite a tough winter). Also nice to see @jezierskimt.bsky.social give a talk on his island Wren research.

It was very nice to be asked by @theconversation.com to write about this fascinating new research. Pigeons in Bronze Age Cyprus! Big congrats to the authors. Excited to see what more we can learn about the early stages of the human-pigeon relationship… doi.org/10.64628/AB....

New in #BirdStudy Using trail cameras to monitor Corncrakes: Use of passive infrared-triggered trail cameras to study timing of breeding and habitat use of Corncrakes Crex crex in Scotland doi.org/10.1080/0006... #ornithology @rspbscience.bsky.social @rspbscotland.bsky.social

Separately, whilst on St Kilda last month working on these endemic Wrens, a Redpoll which flew into our nets already had an ID ring. Turns out it was ringed in September 2025 as a first-year bird, on Sula in Norway. That's 1135km away from St Kilda! @jezierskimt.bsky.social @stkildawhs.bsky.social

Grateful to any visitors this season that are able to photograph any of @jezierskimt.bsky.social 's colour-ringed birds in the Village. If you're able to read a darvic ring, please report the alphanumeric code, time and location to NTS staff for contribution to Michal's research 🙏

Why pigeons deserve more respect.

NEW Friend or foul? Analysis of pigeon bones from Bronze Age Cyprus sheds light on their ancient relationship with humans for the first time, suggesting they were domesticated centuries earlier than previously attested. 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy... 🏺 #Archaeology

20d

23d

Will Smith

10d

New paper in @journal-evo.bsky.social and I'll be defending my thesis in a few hours! Relaxed selection diminishes social memory and expression of host defenses against cuckoos academic.oup.com/evolut/advan...

Our (Jenny Dunn, Carolina Chagas, @willjsmith.bsky.social) paper on the evolution of island Wrens is finally out @evojlinnsoc.bsky.social! We describe the evolution of island gigantism in the St Kilda and Shetland subspecies. academic.oup.com/evolinnean/a...

11d

21d

Why pigeons deserve more respect.

doi.org

The pigeon fanciers of the Bronze Age

Video

15d

Why pigeons deserve more respect.

The pigeon fanciers of the Bronze Age

tcnv.link

Will Smith

Richard K Broughton

Behavioral traits are thought to be rarely or slowly lost when selection relaxes, but attempts to confirm this are rare. At the same time, behaviors can be

academic.oup.com

Relaxed selection diminishes social memory and expression of host defenses against cuckoos

15d

St Kilda World Heritage Site NTS

The Conversation UK

Michał Jezierski

Antiquity Journal

Deryk Tolman

What next? Well, I just slept for 10h, after returning from a month of fieldwork. We've set up a ringing project of St Kilda's Wrens + other passerines, supported by @stkildawhs.bsky.social @britishecologicalsociety.org @leverhulme.ac.uk. With this, we hope to study how island syndromes evolve.

15d

Michał Jezierski