Dr Yosef Kiat is a PI at the School of Zoology and Curator of Ornithology at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University. His research focuses on ornithology, evolution, and avian biology, especially feathers, plumage, moult, and functional morphology in both modern birds and feathered dinosaurs. He previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, and since 2015 has also served as director of the Israel Bird Ringing Center (BirdLife Israel). Alongside his broader research, he has led long-term ringing and conservation work on breeding terns in Israel, including the project behind this study.