We need to understand what a swallow's nest is really for – and it is not mainly for sleeping.
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Articles on Animal behaviour
Displaying 1 - 20 of 102 articles
While the world gathers to see an eclipse, what's the rest of nature doing?
Why do some animals amputate their own limbs? Turns out, there's a whole bunch of reasons why this strategy has evolved.
Parents want their children to be kind to animals, but a hug looks very different to a frightened dog.
If you're having a bad month, your dog probably is too.
The discovery sheds light on how early humans evolved larger brains and the ability to eat meat.
Tasmanian Devils can be incredibly aggressive during mating season and their biting can have fatal consequences.
Pets can be influenced by the personality traits of their owners, something veterinarians could use to help them diagnoise any pet problems.
The mouse who tidied the shed he lives in fascinated human viewers, but cleanliness isn't a virtue unique to humans.
Our closest relatives show distinct cultural behaviour in different populations. But those differences are being erased.
How the zebra got its stripes is not only a just-so story, but an object of scientific inquiry. New research suggests that stripes help zebras evade biting flies and the deadly diseases they carry.
New Caledonian crows are famous for using tools to reach a reward. Now scientists have confirmed they can plan several steps ahead, like a chess player contemplating a series of moves.
Increase of carbon dioxide in the ocean affects the way fish detect predators, mates or food and could threaten not only individual fish but entire populations.
Domestic cats spend a quarter of their waking hours grooming. But that tongue action on the fur does more than keep fur clean – it also helps keep a cat cool.
Sharks eating seagrass? Sounds fishy, but the reality is that animals don't conform to the strict categories we try to place on their diets.
Dolphin pairs had to learn to push buttons at the same time to get a reward. So what happened when one dolphin figured that out, while the other still had to learn?
In evolutionary terms, it’s better to be at the bottom of the hierarchy than to be dead – and that's why submissive behaviours still persist in us humans. Even if we don't like it.
Drugs are finding their way into lakes and rivers, and we need to know exactly what they're doing to wildlife.
Early hominins are thought to have made a new shelter every night, which taught them how to adapt to changing conditions.
Researchers have discovered male bottlenose dolphins can retain individual vocal labels – or “names” – to help them recognise each other in their social network, much like humans.
Top contributors
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Professor of Wildlife Conservation, University of Salford
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Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow, The University of Queensland
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Paul McGreevy is a Friend of The Conversation.
Professor of Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare Science, University of Sydney
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Visiting Lecturer in Primatology, Liverpool John Moores University
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Lecturer in Animal Behaviour, Liverpool John Moores University
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Centre Manager & Industry Liaison Officer ARC ITTC Centre for Fruit Fly Biosecurity Innovation, Macquarie University
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Senior Lecturer, Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, Newcastle University
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Lecturer, University of Exeter
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Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow, University of Exeter
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Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Behaviour, Welfare & Ethics, James Cook University
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Animal Scientist, Nottingham Trent University
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Lecturer in Biology, Keele University
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Postdoctoral researcher, University of Sydney
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Senior Lecturer and Branco Weiss Fellow, University of Bristol
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Research Fellow, Primate Models for Behavioural Evolution Lab, University of Oxford
