Andrew Iwaniuk

@evoneuro.bsky.social

3020 Followers 2076 Following

neurobiologist, ornithologist, scruffy looking nerfherder, social distancing since 1974, Canadian in Alberta, Treaty 7 lands 🇨🇦 🇦🇺 🧪🪶🧠 stuff open access link for our book: https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/6000/Bird-Brains-and-BehaviorA-Synthesis

A multipanel figure showing a cartoon of a songbird head, a cartoon diagram of a songbird brain, and three black and white images showing the cellular structure of the brain region we focused on, PrV. The following is the legend that accompanies the figure. (a) Shows in different colours the areas of the innervation in the head, beak and tongue by the three branches of the trigeminal nerve (V1-V3) and the hypoglossal nerve (XII) in a songbird and the respective areas of innervation in the principal sensory nucleus of the trigeminal nerve (PrV; based on Faunes & Wild [26]). (b–d) Microphotographs of Nissl-stained coronal sections through the principal sensory in nucleus of the trigeminal nerve (PrV) in three species of songbirds: (b) the pine grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator, Fringillidae); (c) the field sparrow (Spizella pusilla, Passerellidae); (d) the Carolina chickadee (Poecile carolinensis, Parulidae).
A grey and black patterned owl with large tufts on top of its head, a round face and bright yellow eyes is turned to its left so that its face is in profile.
A close-up of the round face of a beige and brown owl with bright yellow eyes.
A map of the NW USA, BC and Alberta showing smoke plumes in orange heading NE covering Alberta primarily from fires in WA and OR
A portrait of the disc-shaped face of a great grey owl. The owl appears to be squinting disdainfully at the camera.
The head, chest and shoulders of an American kestrel, which is a small falcon with a blue-grey cap, red-brown streaked chest and black and white stripes on its cheeks. The background is a blurry green.
A brown owl with cream spots and and a yellowish beak appears to be looking down its "nose" at the camera.
A close up of a bald eagle with a white head and bright yellow beak. His eye is covered by the thin nictitating membrane, or third eyelid, and you can see a spiderweb pattern across it. Around the eagle's head are water droplets from the shower he is getting to help cool off.
A view of a lab bench that has all of the following items on it: stacks of paper and bookmarks, badger skin, skunk skin, 20 assorted mammal skulls and bones, 2 microscopes, 2 slide boxes, a box of gloves and a bucket o brains.
A larger songbird with a dark head, yellowish bill, white eye-ring and grey-brown body is perched on top of a tree stump with its back to the camera.
A turtle with a yellow striped head and shiny, blackish shell is partially submerged in water among some reeds.
A large songbird is standing on top of a fencepost with its beak open. The bird has brown with black spots on its back, wings and sides, bright yellow from its chin to its belly broken up by a black "necklace", and a long beak. The background is a blurred green of the pasture behind it.
A streaked brown sparrow with a greyish breast and belly is perched on a thick cable. It has a grasshopper in its mouth and the background is a blurred green from the grasses behind it.
A mostly brown songbird with a long bill, white and black facial stripes and a yellow throat is perched on an old fencepost against a cloudless blue sky. The bird has dirt on the end of its bill and although its back is facing the camera, its head is turned to the left so its face is in profile. A strand of barbed wire is passing through the fencepost and is visible towards the bottom.
A Canada goose is floating on a beaver pond. In the foreground are some out of focus grasses and a beaver swimming towards the goose. The background is the far shore of the pond with leafless shrubs and trees and dried grasses.
A medium sized songbird that is entirely grey is standing on wood mulch at the edge of a green lawn. Just behind the bird are the bright green leaves of a hosta.
A drawing of a mostly grey parrot (presumably an African grey parrot) with the following statement: “I’m just trying to get through the fucking week” Below that is the date: Tuesday June 23 2026
Homer Simpson is beating what appears to be a pile of a garbage (it is an unfinished bbq) with a pipe while screaming “Why must life be so hard”
A brownish songbird with a crest, blak mask, yellowish belly, and yellow tail tips is perched on a leafless branch giving the photographer the "evil eye".
A small grey-brown rabbit is squatting at the end of a lush green lawn and a gravel road.
A light brown deer with very large ears and velvet antlers with three tines each is standing among green shrubs next to a brick building and looking straight down the camera lens.
A perfect duck with a white cheek, black head and neck, chestnut body and a bright blue beak is floating along a greenish river.
A medium sized flycatcher with a grey head and chest, brown wings and tail, and bright yellow belly is perched on a weathered, grey fencepost against an out of focus beige background of dried grasses.
The red-necked grebe looks like a rounded, feathered ball on a mass of mushed up reeds and rushes. Her chest is red and sides dark brown. Her silvery cheek and black cap are visible, but her beak is tucked deep into her breast feathers.
White text on a black background that says: Once a young person asked me, should I go into science? I asked them can you imagine yourself doing anything else and they said no. So I said then I wouldn't go into science, with no imagination.
A duck with a chestnut coloured body, white cheeks, black cap and neck, light blue bill is carrying his tail upright while floating on green water. His beak is slightly open and he appears to be smiling. Bubbles are visible in front of him and around his chest because he has just finished doing his beak pumping courtship display.
A red fox with very wet fur is walking along the top of a fallen tree against a background of lush green forbs and grasses.
A swallow with an orange neck, chest and belly and iridescent blue head, back and wings is standing on the weathered wood railing of a boardwalk. In the background is a second swallow out of focus and a blurry green background (which is the trees lining the edge of the lake).
A mostly brown duck that is spotted all over its neck, chest, belly and sides, but with brown-grey head, dark bill and white crescent in front of his eye is standing in shallow, greenish water. His mate, a mostly brown duck with a dark eye stripe, is standing behind him looking unimpressed.
A hummingbird with a white neck and chest and bright green head is reaching over its shoulder with its beak to preen its side and wing. The hummingbird is perched on thin branch of a fir tree with conifer branches draping in the background.
A view of treetops, leafy poplars and a few dark green spruces, against a cloudless blue sky
A bright rainbow is arcing across a lake. A small dock, grassy lakeshore and spruce trees are in the foreground. The sky is mostly grey storm clouds and in the horizon is the opposite shore, which is a stand of mixed poplar and spruce forest.
A video showing a poorly paved rural road with trees on either side of it. On the surface of the road are thousands of dark squiggles that are moving from left to right. Each squiggle is a tent caterpillar.
An overhead view of a box containing 8 falcon skulls separated by pieces of foam
A crimson rosella: a bright red parrot with a blue cheek and wing feathers and a silver beak is perched at the top of a tree against a background of a blue sky.
A medium sized songbird that is a uniform dark brown is perched at the end of a leafless poplar branch. The blurry background is mostly light green leaves of another tree.
The dark face of a porcupine is poking through between two thick branches of a poplar tree. The rest of the porcupine's body is partially hidden by the tree, but its plump sides are visible. In the foreground are some blurry leaves and the background are some branches and an overcast hazy sky.
A mottled brown, cream and grey sparrow is standing on a thick fencepost at the edge of a parking lot. For some reason, he is looking unimpressed.
A mottled grey shorebird with a long very straight beak is standing in a grassy field. Surrounding the bird are some darker green plants that are taller than the grasses. The background is a blurred view of the pasture.
An overcast night sky with lightning striking across the sky and in the distance. In the foreground are the tops of a mountain ash and several pine trees.
A small shorebird with a straight black bill, grey, white, red and black bold stripes on its head and neck, brown-grey back and wings and white underbelly is standing in shallow water at the edge of a lake. In the foreground is a sandy shore and behind it is a small wave rushing in.
A long legged shorebird with a long, straight black beak, black back wings, neck and mask and white cheeks, throat, chest, belly, and eyebrow is standing in shallow water with several waves coming towards it.
A large mottled brown shorebird with long legs and a long, straight bill is standing in the shallow still water of a lake. Its body is reflected on the water surface and lots of silt covered rocks are visible below the water surface.
Four small sandpipers with white bellies (and otherwise a mottled brown) are standing on exposed rocks in the shallow water of a lake.
An image of an empty classroom with chairs set up facing a small whiteboard. On the screen is a cartoon image of a brain with the caption (Brains!!!)
A large songbird with a long pointed beak, brown back and bright yellow throat and chest with a V-shaped black bib is perched a top a broken fencepost singing. The background is an entirely cloudless blue sky.
A small sparrow with a mix of light and medium brown feathering is standing on top of a thick fencepost singing. Around the fencepost is a thick cable forming a barrier along a parking lot. In the background is a blueish Subaru.
Two all brownish-black songbirds are perched in the leafless branches of a poplar tree. One bird is perched on the end of branch with its head pointing downwards. The second bird has its wings wide open as if indicating that something was "soooo big". Through the branches, there is a cloudless bright blue sky.
A close up of a bright red parrot with a silvery beak, blue cheek and a bit of blue wing feathers showing against a dark green forested background.
A small grey sparrow with a black eyestripe, white line above that and a little red cap is perched on a bare poplar branch against a forest background.
A small grey and light brown ground squirrel with dark eyes and small ears is standing on a mix of brown and green grass.
A somewhat drab grey and brown flycatcher is perched at attention on the bare branch of a poplar tree. In the background is a tangle of poplar branches with bright green leaves.
A large shorebird with a thin curved beak, peach coloured head, neck and chest, and black and white wings and body is standing in a lake. Only the very tops of its legs are visible.
A mostly brown and grey sparrow with distinct black facial marking is perched on a bare branch. In front of the sparrow are some young green leaves. The background is a cloudless bright blue sky.
A small falcon with a blue cap and primaries, orange back, speckled white chest and vertical black and white stripes on its face and neck and perched on an old dead poplar branch against a blurred green and brown background.
A large all black bird with a long beak and malevolent yellow eyes (a pied currawong) is staring at the camera as it is perched on the edge of a water trough.
A mostly black bird with a bright yellow head, neck, and chest and black beak is perched near the top of a cattail. The background is an out of focus pond.
A shorebird with a narrow, pointy beak, grey cap and a neck striped with black, red, and white is swimming along a pond surface. Behind her is a duller, mostly grey shorebird with his back to the camera.
A large mottled brown sandpiper with a long nearly straight beak that rises slightly at its tip is standing in the shallows of a lake. In front of and to the left of the bird are some rock poking above the water surface, including one that has plenty of bird poop on it.
Two shorebirds with thin, up-curved beaks, peach-coloured heads and neck and black and white bodies and wings are floating on the rippled surface of a pond.