Professor Claire Spottiswoode

Pasvolsky Chair of Conservation Biology

 BSc (Hons) (UCT); PhD (Cambridge)

John Day Building: 2.01

 

Activities and research interests:

Claire is an evolutionary biologist and naturalist with a particular interest in the ecology, evolution and conservation of species interactions. She runs two long-term field projects on African birds, in close collaboration with communities in Zambia and Mozambique. First, a project in southern Zambia studying coevolution between brood-parasitic birds and the hosts that they exploit to raise their young (see AfricanCuckoos.com), as well as other aspects of bird breeding biology. Second, a project in northern Mozambique studying the mutually beneficial interactions between honeyguides and the human honey-hunters with whom they cooperate to gain access to bees’ nests (see AfricanHoneyguides.com). 

At the FitzPatrick Institute, Claire is Pola Pasvolsky Chair in Conservation Biology and Co-Director of the Max Planck–UCT Centre for Behaviour and Coevolution, established in 2024 in collaboration with Prof. Dr Bart Kempenaers and his team at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence in Germany. She is also a Visiting Research Associate in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge in the UK.

Claire is from Cape Town and did her undergraduate studies at the University of Cape Town (1998–2001), followed by a PhD (2002–2005) at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Professor Nick Davies. She continued at Cambridge with the kind support of research fellowships from Sidney Sussex College, The Royal Society, and the BBSRC, and in mid-2016 returned to South Africa to start a joint position at the FitzPatrick Institute. Since mid-2024, she was worked full time at UCT.  

Claire and her team work on both parasitic and mutualistic interactions between species. Since 2006, she has been working on coevolutionary arms races between brood-parasitic birds (such as cuckoos, honeyguides and parasitic finches) and the host species they exploit to bear the costs of raising their young. Together with collaborators, she has focussed on two main questions: first, asking how coevolution can escalate into ongoing arms races involving defensive egg signatures in hosts and mimetic forgeries in parasites. Second, incorporating genetic approaches, asking how host-specificity can evolve within parasitic species that exploit multiple hosts. This research happens at a field site in southern Zambia, enabled by a wonderful team of local field assistants and historically supported primarily by the BBSRC, Leverhulme Trust, Royal Society, and DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute; it is currently supported primarily by the Max Planck-UCT Centre for Behaviour and Coevolution. Please see AfricanCuckoos.com for more information about this and other ongoing field projects in Zambia.

Since 2013, Claire and her team have studied the remarkable mutualism between human honey-hunters and greater honeyguides (Indicator indicator) that lead them to wild bees’ nests. They work primarily in Mozambique’s beautiful Niassa Special Reserve, in close collaboration with the honey-hunting community of Mbamba Village and the Niassa Carnivore Project. This work was supported by a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council in 2017–2024, and is currently supported by the Max Planck-UCT Centre for Behaviour and Coevolution. Please see AfricanHoneyguides.com for more information about this project and other ongoing work on honeyguide–human interactions in other parts of Africa.

Claire has wide interests in ornithology and has also worked on avian sociality, nest camouflage, bird pollination, sexual selection, bird migration, and the conservation ecology of threatened species (particularly in the Horn of Africa and northern Mozambique). She is a life-long birdwatcher and has co-written three birding guidebooks to Ethiopia and southern Africa.

Current post-docs and students:

Post-doctoral
David Lloyd-Jones (UCT)

PhD
Mairenn Attwood (Cambridge)
Eliupendo Laltaika (UCT)
David Lloyd-Jones (UCT) (under examination)
Jess Lund (Cambridge)

Masters (Dissertation)
Yinka Abayomi (UCT; lead supervisor Dr Chima Nwaogu)
Lailat Guta (UCT)
Joel Radue (UCT)
Daniella Mhangwana (UCT)

Masters (Conservation Biology)
Prudence Tegueu Kemeni (UCT)
 

Former UCT students and postdocs:

PhD

Kyle-Mark Middleton (2023) The individual bases of group behaviour in the cooperative breeding Southern Ground-Hornbill Bucorvus leadbeateri. (Co-supervisor to Dr Rita Covas, Dr Kate Carstens and Dr Fanny Ryback)
Amanda Bourne (2020) Can sociality buffer the impacts of climate change on a cooperatively-breeding bird, the southern pied babbler Turdoides bicolor? (Co-supervisor to Susie Cunningham and Amanda Ridley)
Luke McClean (2020) Coevolution between the little-known brood parasitic honeyguides and their hosts (Co-supervised by Dr Nick Horrocks)

Masters (Dissertation)

Cameron Blair (2024) Begging call mimicry and host manipulation by brood-parasitic honeyguides. (Co-supervised by Jess Lund)
Jess Lund (2021) Coevolutionary causes and consequences of high-fidelity mimicry by a specialist brood parasite. (Co-supervised by Dr Gabriel Jamie)
Monique du Plessis (2020) The effect of artificial nectar feeders on bird-plant mutualisms in the Cape Fynbos. (Co-supervisor to Dr Anina Coetzee and Dr Colleen Seymour)

Masters (Conservation Biology)

Maggie Mwale (2024) Have birds’ eggs become paler as the climate warms? (Co-supervised by Dr Shannon Conradie and Dr Nick Horrocks)
Wiro-Bless Kamboe (2024) Partners, companions, or enemies: how and why people differ in their relationship with honeyguides in northern Ghana. (Co-supervisor to Dr Jessica van der Wal and Dr Timothy Khan Aikins)
Amana Kilawi (2023) Mutualism between honeyguides, beekeepers and honey-hunters in southern Tanzania. (Co-supervised by Dr Jessica van der Wal).
Matt Lobenhofer (2023) Conserving seasonal patterns in nature: seasonal insect abundance and diversity in the Afrotropics. (Co-supervised by Chima Nwaogu and Charlene Janion-Scheepers).
Rowan Hickman (2021) How does surface mining impact surrounding Miombo woodland bird communities? (Co-supervised by Dr Gabriel Jamie).
Eliupendo Laltaika (2021) Understanding the mutualistic interaction between greater honeyguides and four co-existing human cultures in northern Tanzania. (Co-supervised by Dr Jessica van der Wal)
Sarah Casola (2017) The potential impact of climate change on the genetic landscape of the endangered Western leopard toad, Sclerophrys pantherina. (Co-supervisor to Dr Krystal Tolley).
Wesley Gush (2017) The ecology and persistence of a highly threatened South African grassland bird, Rudd's lark. (Co-supervised by Dr David Maphisa and Dr Paul Donald).

Honours

Daniella Mhangwana (UCT) (co-supervised by Dr Celiwe Ngcamphala and Dr Jessica van der Wal)
Joel Radue (UCT) (co-supervised by Dr Shannon Conradie and Dr Nick Horrocks)
Cameron Blair (UCT) (co-supervised by Dr Jessica van der Wal)
Rion Cuthill (UCT) (co-supervised by Prof. Sally Archibald)
Billi Krochuk (UCT) (co-supervisor to Dr Robert Thomson)

Former UCT postdocs

Dr Jessica van der Wal: now Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, Germany, and Honorary Research Affiliate at the FitzPatrick Institute, UCT
Dr Anina Coetzee: now Lecturer at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
Dr Chevonne Reynolds: now Associate Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

Selected publications:

Please see Google Scholar for a full list.

Brood-parasite–host coevolution:

  • Dixit, T., Lund, J., Fulford, A.J.C., Apostol, A.L., Chen, K.-C., Tong, W., Feeney, W.E., Hamusikili, L., Colebrook-Robjent, J.F.R., Town, C.P. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2023 Chase-away evolution maintains imperfect mimicry despite rapid evolution of mimics. Nature Ecology & Evolution 7: 1978–1982. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02232-4
  • Dixit, T., Chen, K.-C., Stoddard, M.C., Mahadevan, L., Town, C.P. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2023 Repeatable randomness, invariant properties, and the design of biological signatures of identity. Evolution 77: 2224–2233. https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpad134
  • Lund, J., Dixit, T., Attwood, M.C., Hamama, S., Moya, C., Stevens, M., Jamie, G.A. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2023 When perfection isn’t enough: host egg signatures are an effective defence against high-fidelity African cuckoo mimicry. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 290: 20231125. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.1125
  • Attwood, M.C., Lund, J., Nwaogu, C.J., Moya, C. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2023 Aggressive hosts are undeterred by a cuckoo’s hawk-mimicry, but likely make good foster parents. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 290: 20221506. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.1506
  • Spottiswoode, C.N., Tong, W., Jamie, G.A., Stryjewski, K.F., DaCosta, J., Kuras, E., Green, A., Hamama, S., Taylor, I.G., Moya, C. & Sorenson, M.D. 2022 Genetic architecture facilitates then constrains adaptation in a host-parasite coevolutionary arms race. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 119: e2121752119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2121752119
  • Dixit, T., Caves, E.M., Spottiswoode, C.N. and Horrocks, N.P. 2021. Why and how to apply Weber's Law to coevolution and mimicry. Evolution 75: 1906–1919. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14290.
  • Caves, E.M., Dixit, T., Colebrook-Robjent, J.F.R., Hamusikili, L., Stevens, M., Thorogood, R., Spottiswoode, C.N. 2021. Hosts elevate either within-clutch consistency or between-clutch distinctiveness of egg phenotypes in defence against brood parasites. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 288. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0326 
  • Jamie, G.A., Hamama, S., Moya, C., Kilner, R.M. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2021 The limits of host colonisation and speciation in a radiation of parasitic finches. Behavioral Ecology 32: 529-538. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/araa155
  • Jamie, G.A., Van Belleghem, S., Hogan, B., Hamama, S., Moya, C., Troscianko, J., Stoddard, M.C., Kilner, R.M. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2020 Multimodal mimicry of hosts in a radiation of parasitic finches. Evolution 74: 2526-2538.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N. & Busch, R. 2019 Vive la difference! Self/non-self recognition and the evolution of signature polymorphism in arms races with parasites. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 374: 20180206.
  • Stoddard, M.C., Hogan, B., Stevens, M. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2019 Higher-level pattern features provide additional information to birds when recognizing and rejecting parasitic eggs. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 374: 20180197.
  • Caves, E.M., Stevens, M. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2017. Does coevolution with a shared parasite drive hosts to partition their defences among species? Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 284: 20170272
  • Péron, G., Altwegg, R., Jamie, G.A. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2016. Coupled range dynamics of brood parasites and their hosts responding to climate and vegetation changes. Journal of Animal Ecology 85: 1191–1199.
  • Caves, E.M., Stevens, M., Iversen, E. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2015. Hosts of brood parasites have evolved egg signatures with elevated information content. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 282: 20150598.
  • Feeney, W.E., Troscianko, J., Langmore, N.E. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2015. Evidence for aggressive mimicry in an adult brood parasitic bird, and generalised defences in its host. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 282: 2015079.
  • Stevens, M., Troscianko, J. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2013. Repeated targeting of the same hosts by a brood parasite compromises host egg rejection. Nature Communications 4: 2475.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N. 2013. A brood parasite selects for its own egg traits. Biology Letters 9: 20130573.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N. & Stevens, M. 2012. Host-parasite arms races and rapid changes in bird egg appearance. American Naturalist 179: 633–648.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N. & Koorevaar, J. 2012. A stab in the dark: chick killing by brood parasitic honeyguides. Biology Letters 8: 241–244.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N., Stryjewski, K.F., Quader, S., Colebrook-Robjent, J.F.R. & Sorenson, M.D. 2011. Ancient host-specificity within a single species of brood parasitic bird. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 108: 17738–17742.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N. & Stevens, M. 2011. How to evade a coevolving brood parasite: egg discrimination versus egg variability as host defences. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 278: 3566–3573.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N. & Stevens, M. 2010. Visual modeling shows that avian host parents use multiple visual cues in rejecting parasitic eggs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 107: 8672–8676.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N. 2010. The evolution of host-specific variation in cuckoo eggshell strength. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 23: 1792–1799.

Honeyguide–human mutualism:

  • Lloyd-Jones, D.J., Muamedi, M. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2025 To bees or not to bees: greater honeyguides sometimes guide humans to animals other than bees, but likely not as punishment.  Ecology & Evolution 15:e71136.
  • van der Wal, J.E.M., Dauda, C., Lloyd-Jones, D.J., Murico, H., Begg, C.M., Jorge, A.A. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2025 The economic value of human-honeyguide cooperation in Reserva Especial do Niassa, Moçambique. Ecosystem Services 72: 101696.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N.* & Wood, B.M.* 2023 Culturally-determined interspecies communication between humans and honeyguides. Science 382: 1155–1158. *equal contributions.
  • Cram, D.L., Lloyd-Jones, D.J., van der Wal, J.E.M., Lund, J., Buanachique, I.O., Muamedi, M., Nanguar, C.I., Ngovene, A., Raveh, S., Boner, W., & Spottiswoode, C.N.  2023 Guides and cheats: producer-scrounger dynamics in the honeyguide-human mutualism. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 290: 20232024.
  • van der Wal, J.E.M., Afan, A.I., Anyawire, M., Begg, C.M., Begg, K.S., Dabo, G.A., Gedi, I.I., Harris, J.A., Isack, H.A., Ibrahim, J.I., Jamie, G.A., Kamboe, W.-B.W., Kilawi, A.O., Kingston, A., Laltaika, E.A., Lloyd-Jones, D.J., M'manga, G.M., Muhammad, N.Z., Ngcamphalala, C.A., Nhlabatsi, S.O., Oleleteyo, T.T., Sanda, M., Tsamkxao, L., Wood, B.M., Spottiswoode, C.N.* & Cram, D.L.* 2023 Do honey badgers and greater honeyguide birds cooperate to access bees’ nests? Ecological evidence and honey-hunter accounts. Journal of Zoology 321: 22–32 *equal contributions
  • Lloyd-Jones, D.J., St Clair, J.J.H., Cram, D.L., Yassene, O., van der Wal, J.E.M. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2022 When wax wanes: competitors for beeswax stabilize rather than jeopardize the honeyguide-human mutualism. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 289: 20221443.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N., & Lund, J. & Lloyd-Jones, D.J. 2022 Quick Guide: Honeyguides. Current Biology 32: R1072-R1074.
  • Cram, D.L., van der Wal, J.E.M., Uomini, N.T., Cantor, M., Afan, A.I., Attwood, M.C., Amphaeris, J., Balasani, F., Blair, C.J., Bronstein, J.L., Buanachique, I.O., Cuthill, R.R.T., Das, J., Daura-Jorge, F.G., Deb, A., Dixit, T., Dlamini, G.S., Dounias, E., Gedi, I.I., Gruber, M., Hoffman, L.S., Holzlehner, T., Isack, H.A., Laltaika, E.A., Lloyd-Jones, D.J., Lund, J., Machado, A.M.S., Mahadevan, L., Moreno, I.B., Nwaogu, C.J., Pereira, V.L., Pierotti, R., Rucunua, S.A., dos Santos, W.F., Serpa, N., Smith, B.D., Sridhar, H., Tolkova, I., Tun, T., Valle-Pereira, J.V.S., Wood, B.M., Wrangham, R.W. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2022 The ecology and evolution of human-wildlife cooperation. People and Nature 4: 841-855.
  • van der Wal, J.E.M., Spottiswoode, C.N., Uomini, N.T., Cantor, M., Daura-Jorge, F.G., Afan, A.I., Attwood, M.C., Amphaeris, J., Balasani, F., Begg, C.M., Blair, C.J., Bronstein, J.L., Buanachique, I.O., Cuthill, R.R.T., Das, J., Deb, A., Dixit, T., Dlamini, G.S., Dounias, E., Gedi, I.I., Gruber, M., Hoffman, L.S., Holzlehner, T., Isack, H.A., Laltaika, E.A., Lloyd-Jones, D.J., Lund, J., Machado, A.M.S., Mahadevan, L., Moreno, I.B., Nwaogu, C.J., Pierotti, R., Rucunua, S.A., dos Santos, W.F., Serpa, N., Smith, B.D., Tolkova, I., Tun, T., Valle-Pereira, J.V.S., Wood, B.M., Wrangham, R.W. & Cram, D.L. 2022 Safeguarding human–wildlife cooperation. Conservation Letters 15: e12886.
  • van der Wal, J.E.M., Gedi, I. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2022 Awer honey-hunting culture with greater honeyguides in coastal Kenya. Frontiers in Conservation Science 2: 727479.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N., Begg, K.S. & Begg, C.M. 2016. Reciprocal signaling in honey-guide-human mutualism. Science 353: 387-389.

Bird–plant mutualism:

  • Coetzee, A., Seymour, C.L. and Spottiswoode, C.N. 2021. Facilitation and competition shape a geographical mosaic of flower colour polymorphisms. Functional Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13851  
  • du Plessis, M., Seymour, C.L., Spottiswoode, C.N. and Coetzee, A. 2021. Artificial nectar feeders reduce sunbird abundance and plant visitation in Cape Fynbos adjacent to suburban areas. Global Ecology and Conservation 28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01706

Avian sociality:

  • Bourne, A.R., Ridley, A.R., Spottiswoode, C.N. and Cunningham, S.J. 2021. Direct and indirect effects of high temperatures on fledging in a cooperatively breeding bird. Behavioral Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab087 
  • Bourne, A.R., Ridley, A.R., McKechnie, A.E., Spottiswoode, C.N. and Cunningham, S.J. 2021. Dehydration risk is associated with reduced nest attendance and hatching success in a cooperatively breeding bird, the southern pied babbler Turdoides bicolor. Conservation Physiology 9. https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coab043 
  • Bourne, A.R., Cunningham, S.J., Spottiswoode, C.N. & Ridley, A.R. 2020 Hot droughts compromise interannual survival across all group sizes in a cooperatively breeding bird. Ecology Letters 23: 1776-1788.
  • Bourne, A.R., Cunningham, S.J., Spottiswoode, C.N. & Ridley, A.R. 2020 High temperatures drive offspring mortality in a cooperatively breeding bird. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 287: 20201140.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N. 2013. Perspectives: How cooperation defeats cheats. Science 342: 1452–1453.
  • van Dijk, R.E., Eising, C.M., Merrill, R.M., Karadas, F., Hatchwell B.J. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2013. Maternal effects in the highly communal sociable weaver may exacerbate brood reduction and prepare offspring for a competitive social environment. Oecologia 171: 379–389.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N. 2009. Fine-scale life-history variation in Sociable Weavers in relation to colony size. Journal of Animal Ecology 78: 504–512.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N. 2008. Cooperative breeding and immunity: a comparative study of PHA response in African birds. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 62: 963–974.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N. 2007. Phenotypic sorting in morphology and reproductive investment among sociable weaver colonies. Oecologia 154: 589–600.

Migratory birds:

  • Sorensen, M.C., Fairhurst, G.D., Jenni-Eiermann, D., Newton, J., Yohannes, E. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2016. Seasonal rainfall at long-term migratory staging sites is associated with altered carry-over effects in a Palearctic-African migratory bird. BMC Ecology 16: 41.
  • Sorensen, M.C., Jenni-Eiermann, S. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2016. Why do migratory birds sing on their tropical wintering grounds? American Naturalist 187: E65–E76.
  • Sorensen, M.C., Asghar, M., Bensch, S., Fairhurst, G.D., Jenni-Eiermann, S. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2016. A rare study from the wintering grounds provides insight into the costs of malaria infection for migratory birds. Journal of Avian Biology 57: 575–582.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N., Tøttrup, A.P. & Coppack, T. 2006. Sexual selection predicts response of migratory birds to climate change. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 273: 3023–3029.
  • Spottiswoode, C. & Møller, A.P. 2004. Extra-pair paternity, migration and breeding synchrony in birds. Behavioral Ecology 15: 41–57.

Nest camouflage:

  • Stevens, M., Troscianko, J., Wilson-Aggarwal, J.K. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2017. Improvement of individual camouflage through background choice in ground-nesting birds. Nature Ecology & Evolution 1: 1325-1333.
  • Troscianko, J. Wilson-Aggarwal, J., Griffiths, D., Spottiswoode, C.N. & Stevens, M. 2017. Relative advantages of dichromatic and trichromatic color vision in camouflage breaking. Behavioral Ecology 28: 556-564.
  • Troscianko, J., Wilson-Aggarwal, J., Spottiswoode, C.N. & Stevens, M. 201.6 Nest covering in plovers: how modifying the visual environment influences egg camouflage. Ecology and Evolution doi: 10.1002/ece3.2494
  • Wilson-Aggarwal, J., Troscianko, J., Stevens, M. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2016. Escape distance in ground-nesting birds differs with level of individual camouflage. American Naturalist 188: 231–239.
  • Troscianko, J., Wilson-Aggarwal, J., Stevens, M. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2016. Camouflage directly predicts the survival probability of ground-nesting birds. Scientific Reports 6: 19966.

Threatened species:

  • Bayliss, J., Bittencourt-Silva, G.B., Branch, B., Bruessow, C., Collins, S., Congdon, C., Conradie, W., Curran, M., Daniels, S., Darbyshire, I., Farooq, H., Fishpool, L., Grantham, G., Magombo, Z., Matimele, H., Monadjem, A., Osborne, J., Saunders, J., Smith, P., Spottiswoode, C.N., Taylor, P., Timberlake, J., Tovela, É., Tolley, K.A. & Platts, P.J. 2024 A biogeographical appraisal of the threatened South East Africa Montane Archipelago ecoregion. Scientific Reports 14: 5971.
  • Gush, W.G., Maphisa, D.H., Reynolds, C., Donald, P.F. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2019 Declines of the globally threatened Rudd’s Lark Heteromirafra ruddi in one of its last remaining strongholds. Bird Conservation International 29: 644–656.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N., Fishpool, L.D.C. & Bayliss, J.L. 2016. Birds and biogeography of Mt Mecula, in Mozambique's Niassa National Reserve. Ostrich 87: 281–284
  • Mills, M.S.L., Cohen, C., Francis, J.E. & Spottiswoode, C.N. 2015. A survey for the Critically Endangered Liben Lark Heteromirafra archeri in Somaliland, north-western Somalia. Ostrich 86: 291–294.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N., Olsson, U., Mills, M.S.L., Cohen, C., Francis, J.E., Dagne, A., Toye, N., Hoddinott, D., Wood, C., Donald, P.F., Collar, N.J. & Alström, P. 2013. Rediscovery of a long-lost lark reveals the conspecificity of endangered Heteromirafra populations in the Horn of Africa. Journal of Ornithology 154: 813–825.
  • Donald, P.F., Gedeon, K., Collar, N.J., Spottiswoode, C.N., Wondafrash, M. & Buchanan, G.M. 2012. The restricted range of the Ethiopian Bush-crow Zavattariornis stresemanni is a consequence of high reliance on modified habitats within narrow climatic limits. Journal of Ornithology 153: 1031–1044.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N., Wondafrash, M, Gabremichael, M.N., Dellelegn, Y., Mwangi, M.K., Collar, N.J. & Dolman, P.M. 2009. Rangeland degradation is poised to cause Africa’s first recorded avian extinction. Animal Conservation 12: 249–257.
  • Spottiswoode, C.N., Patel, I.H., Herrmann, E., Timberlake, J. & Bayliss, J. 2008. Threatened bird species on two little-known mountains (Mabu and Chiperone) in northern Mozambique. Ostrich 79: 1–7.