Will Smith, Author at British Ornithologists' Union

About the author

Will Smith

Will is a DPhil student at the University of Oxford’s Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, supervised by Sonya Clegg and Ben Sheldon. He combines fieldwork and population genomics to study the hybridisation and gene flow dynamics of wild birds, focussing on Scottish Rock Doves (Columba livia), and particularly their Outer Hebridean populations.

Doves of a feather flock together

By Will Smith|2023-04-12T10:20:50+00:0013 Apr 2023|bird assemblages, citizen science, colouration, connectivity, distribution, early-career researcher, ECR, feathers, fieldwork, Genetics, hybridization, hybrids, IBIS, island birds, plumage, population structure, range expansion|

Can we distinguish Rock Doves from feral pigeons using plumage?

A wild pigeon chase!

By Will Smith|2022-07-08T11:53:13+00:0011 Jul 2022|distribution, domesticated, early career, early-career researcher, ECR, Genetics, genomics, population dynamics, population structure|

The Rock Dove’s genomic status in the British Isles.

Walking on the wild side

By Will Smith|2021-12-27T17:15:46+00:0027 Dec 2021|Conservation, domesticated, early-career researcher, ECR, evolution, Galliformes, gene flow, hybridization, pigeon, populations, selection|

What are the challenges of studying and conserving the wild forms of our domestic animals?