Male-like ornamentation in female hummingbirds results from social harassment rather than sexual selection

Female white-necked jacobin hummingbirds are polymorphic—some express ornamented plumage like adult males. Falk et al. find that all juvenile females have male-like plumage, which some maintain as adults. Rather than being favored by sexual selection, male-like plumage benefits females by reducing social harassment from this and other species.

Male-like ornamentation in female hummingbirds results from social harassment rather than sexual selection

Female white-necked jacobin hummingbirds are polymorphic—some express ornamented plumage like adult males. Falk et al. find that all juvenile females have male-like plumage, which some maintain as adults. Rather than being favored by sexual selection, male-like plumage benefits females by reducing social harassment from this and other species.

Reciprocal signaling in honeyguide-human mutualism

Honeyguide birds recognize human honey-hunters calls and help them find wild bees’ nests.

Hummingbird hawk moths and ivy bees: The insects growing in number as temperatures rise

Hummingbird hawk moths - often mistaken for small birds - are being spotted in the West Midlands.

The Ethics of Pokémon Battles: Is Pokemon Dog Fighting? - Philosimplicity

Is Pokémon cockfighting or dog fighting? Learn about how we should think of the ethics of Pokémon battles within the universe of the franchise.

dhruv bhatia on Twitter / X

This fly can no longer experience loveI fine-tuned a MaleCNS model to hold Y-M-C-A poses in response to 4 specific tones. LoVP92, the section that held reproductive ambitions seems most affected. Open sourcing training code soon https://t.co/OXhyQXdyZq pic.twitter.com/2uxvXkAJQq— dhruv bhatia (@dhruvbhatia0) September 7, 2026

Heterospecific social behavior in primates: insights into the evolutionary roots of pet-keeping

Primate interspecific interactions with both other primates and non-primate species range from predator–prey dynamics to affiliative behaviors such as grooming, play, and carrying. While many primates participate in interspecific associations or commensal relationships, to our knowledge interspecific social interactions have never been systematically synthesized. Here, we present the first comprehensive review of such interactions, compiling 427 cases from the literature, media sources, and a global survey of primatologists. These involved 88 primate species and 127 non-primate species (including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, malacostracans, and insects) across wild (n = 311) and captive (n = 111) contexts. The most frequent interactions occurred within or between primate families (e.g., Cercopithecidae–Cercopithecidae, Cebidae–Atelidae), though affiliative behaviors were also directed toward distantly related taxa such as dogs and birds. Play (n = 139) and grooming (n = 136) were most common. Juveniles and infants predominantly engaged in play, while adult females were more likely to groom. Adult males were less affiliative overall. Contrary to expectations, affiliative behaviors were not more often directed toward immature than adult heterospecifics. Primates were the initiators in most interactions. These findings offer new insights into the diversity and contexts of heterospecific sociality in primates and suggest that some behavioral tendencies relevant to later forms of human–animal companionship – such as caregiving, tolerance, and exploratory play – may be more widespread among primates than previously recognized.

Sex Differences in Personality are Large and Important - Marginal REVOLUTION

Men and women are different. A seemingly obvious fact to most of humanity but a long-time subject of controversy within psychology. New large-scale results using better empirical methods are resolving the debate, however, in favor of the person in the street. The basic story is that at the broadest level (OCEAN) differences are relatively small […]

Embracing the complexity of plant–bird interactions to understand species’ roles within ecosystems

The context-dependent fate of seeds, shaped by birds that can act as both antagonists and mutualists, reveals a hidden variability of functions and seed dispersal mechanisms, underscoring the need for stronger empirical evidence to accurately understand seed dispersal ecology.

Why aren’t coyotes, dingoes and wolves treated like our dogs? | Aeon Essays

Coyotes, dingoes and wolves are all dogs, as intelligent and loyal as our familiars. Our treatment of them is unconscionable

I'm a psychologist who studies couples: People in the happiest relationships have 5 things in common with their partner

Opposites may attract, but similarities are usually what determine if a relationship can stand the test of time, says Mark Travers, a psychologist who studies couples. Here's what the happiest couples share in common with their partner.

Human–Animal Interaction and Human Prosociality: A Meta-Analytic Review of Experimental and Correlational Studies

Pet ownership and interactions with animals confer various physiological and psychological benefits to humans. Although interactions with animals are commonplace, there is no consensus in the liter...

Testosterone eliminates strategic prosocial behavior through impacting choice consistency in healthy males

Neuropsychopharmacology - Testosterone eliminates strategic prosocial behavior through impacting choice consistency in healthy males

The understanding that even bees have feelings is changing our view of consciousness | New Scientist

From jays that seem to say "sorry" to insects that play, signs of emotional inner life across the animal kingdom are giving us new perspectives on what consciousness is, and how we might pin it down