Topic · Avian ecology and behavior
Most cited papers in Avian ecology and behavior
What are the most cited papers in Avian ecology and behavior?
The most cited paper in Avian ecology and behavior is "On territorial behavior and other factors influencing habitat distribution in birds" (Stephen Dewitt Fretwell, H. L. Lucas, 1969), with 4,543 citations. Next come "On Bird Species Diversity" (3,665) and "Distance‐Based Tests for Homogeneity of Multivariate Dispersions" (3,310).
Showing 50 of 100 papers. Every paper with more than 729 citations is listed.
| # | Paper | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | On territorial behavior and other factors influencing habitat distribution in birds Stephen Dewitt Fretwell, H. L. Lucas · Acta Biotheoretica | Mar 1969 | 4,543 |
| 2 | On Bird Species Diversity Robert H. MacArthur, John W. MacArthur · Ecology | Jul 1961 | 3,665 |
| 3 | Distance‐Based Tests for Homogeneity of Multivariate Dispersions Marti Jane Anderson · Biometrics | 20 Oct 2005 | 3,310 |
| 4 | A DNA test to sex most birds Richard Griffiths, Mike C. Double, Kate J. Orr et al. · Molecular Ecology | Aug 1998 | 3,151 |
| 5 | The "Challenge Hypothesis": Theoretical Implications for Patterns of Testosterone Secretion, Mating Systems, and Breeding Strategies John C. Wingfield, Robert E. Hegner, Alfred M. Dufty et al. · The American Naturalist | Dec 1990 | 2,363 |
| 6 | Speciation in Amazonian Forest Birds Jürgen Haffer · Science | 11 Jul 1969 | 2,169 |
| 7 | The Prudent Parent: Energetic Adjustments in Avian Breeding1) R.H. Drent, Serge Daan · Ardea | 2002 | 2,043 |
| 8 | Agricultural intensification and the collapse of Europe's farmland bird populations Paul F. Donald, R. E. Green, Melanie Heath · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences | 7 Jan 2001 | 2,013 |
| 9 | At‐sea distribution and scale‐dependent foraging behaviour of petrels and albatrosses: a comparative study David Pinaud, Henri Weimerskirch · Journal of Animal Ecology | 27 Nov 2006 | 1,985 |
| 10 | A Simple and Universal Method for Molecular Sexing of Non-Ratite Birds Anna‐Karin Fridolfsson, Hans Ellegren · Journal of Avian Biology | Mar 1999 | 1,957 |
| 11 | Human-caused Disturbance Stimuli as a Form of Predation Risk Alejandro Frid, Lawrence M. Dill · Conservation Ecology | 2002 | 1,926 |
| 12 | Diclofenac residues as the cause of vulture population decline in Pakistan J. Lindsay Oaks, Martin Gilbert, Munir Z. Virani et al. · Nature | 26 Jan 2004 | 1,791 |
| 13 | Why do females mate multiply? A review of the genetic benefits Michael D. Jennions, Marion Petrie · Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society | Feb 2000 | 1,746 |
| 14 | Urban effects on native avifauna: a review Jameson F. Chace, John J. Walsh · Landscape and Urban Planning | 15 Dec 2004 | 1,713 |
| 15 | Early development and fitness in birds and mammals Jan Lindström, Jan Lindström · Trends in Ecology & Evolution | Sep 1999 | 1,709 |
| 16 | Shifts in phenology due to global climate change: the need for a yardstick Marcel E. Visser, Christiaan Both · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences | Nov 2005 | 1,494 |
| 17 | Regional Forest Fragmentation and the Nesting Success of Migratory Birds Scott K. Robinson, Frank R. III Thompson, Therese M. Donovan et al. · Science | 31 Mar 1995 | 1,486 |
| 18 | Climate change and population declines in a long-distance migratory bird Christiaan Both, Sandra Bouwhuis, C. M. Lessells et al. · Nature | May 2006 | 1,465 |
| 19 | Extra pair paternity in birds: a review of interspecific variation and adaptive function Simon Charles Griffith, Ian P. F. Owens, Katherine A. Thuman · Molecular Ecology | Nov 2002 | 1,461 |
| 20 | The scent of death: Chemosensory assessment of predation risk by prey animals Lee B. Kats, Lawrence M. Dill · Ecoscience | 1998 | 1,451 |
| 21 | Population dynamics of large herbivores: variable recruitment with constant adult survival Jean‐Michel Gaillard, Marco Festa‐Bianchet, Nigel G. Yoccoz · Trends in Ecology & Evolution | Feb 1998 | 1,382 |
| 22 | On the advantages of flocking H. Ronald Pulliam · Journal of Theoretical Biology | Feb 1973 | 1,327 |
| 23 | Reciprocal subsidies: Dynamic interdependence between terrestrial and aquatic food webs Shigeru Nakano, Masashi Murakami · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | 2 Jan 2001 | 1,318 |
| 24 | Links between worlds: unraveling migratory connectivity Michael S. Webster, Peter P. Marra, Susan M. Haig et al. · Trends in Ecology & Evolution | Feb 2002 | 1,312 |
| 25 | Optimal Bird Migration: The Relative Importance of Time, Energy, and Safety Thomas Alerstam, Åke Lindström | 1990 | 1,304 |
| 26 | WHY BREEDING TIME HAS NOT RESPONDED TO SELECTION FOR EARLIER BREEDING IN A SONGBIRD POPULATION Phillip Gienapp, Erik Postma, Marcel E. Visser · Evolution | Nov 2006 | 1,284 |
| 27 | QUASI-POISSON VS. NEGATIVE BINOMIAL REGRESSION: HOW SHOULD WE MODEL OVERDISPERSED COUNT DATA? Jay M. Ver Hoef, Peter L. Boveng · Ecology | Nov 2007 | 1,245 |
| 28 | AVIAN LIFE HISTORY VARIATION AND CONTRIBUTION OF DEMOGRAPHIC TRAITS TO THE POPULATION GROWTH RATE Bernt‐Erik Sæther, Øyvind Bakke · Ecology | Mar 2000 | 1,235 |
| 29 | Estimates of survival from the sighting of marked animals R. M. Cormack · Biometrika | 1964 | 1,217 |
| 30 | Survival Analysis in Telemetry Studies: The Staggered Entry Design Kenneth H. Pollock, Scott R. Winterstein, Christine M. Bunck et al. · Journal of Wildlife Management | 1989 | 1,216 |
| 31 | Perceived Predation Risk Reduces the Number of Offspring Songbirds Produce per Year Liana Zanette, Aija F. White, Marek C. Allen et al. · Science | 8 Dec 2011 | 1,188 |
| 32 | PRACTICAL METHODS OF ESTIMATING VOLUME AND FRESH WEIGHT OF BIRD EGGS Donald F. Hoyt · Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida) | 1979 | 1,178 |
| 33 | Seabird conservation status, threats and priority actions: a global assessment John P. Croxall, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Ben Lascelles et al. · Bird Conservation International | 6 Feb 2012 | 1,166 |
| 34 | A NEW PCR ASSAY FOR SIMULTANEOUS STUDIES OF LEUCOCYTOZOON, PLASMODIUM, AND HAEMOPROTEUS FROM AVIAN BLOOD Olof Hellgren, Jonas Waldenström, Staffan Bensch · Journal of Parasitology | Aug 2004 | 1,131 |
| 35 | Evolution of Darwin’s finches and their beaks revealed by genome sequencing Sangeet Lamichhaney, Jonas Berglund, Markus Sällman Almén et al. · Nature | Feb 2015 | 1,087 |
| 36 | Early growth conditions, phenotypic development and environmental change Pat Monaghan · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences | 28 Nov 2007 | 1,078 |
| 37 | Warmer springs lead to mistimed reproduction in great tits (Parus major) Marcel E. Visser, Arie J. van Noordwijk, Joost M. Tinbergen et al. · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences | 7 Oct 1998 | 1,062 |
| 38 | Adjustment to climate change is constrained by arrival date in a long-distance migrant bird Christiaan Both, Marcel E. Visser · Nature | May 2001 | 1,048 |
| 39 | Estimating Nest Success: The Mayfield Method and an Alternative Douglas H. Johnson · Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida) | Oct 1979 | 1,037 |
| 40 | A GENERAL THEORY OF CLUTCH SIZE Martin L. Cody · Evolution | Jun 1966 | 1,021 |
| 41 | Variation in survivorship of a migratory songbird throughout its annual cycle T. Scott Sillett, Richard T. Holmes · Journal of Animal Ecology | Mar 2002 | 1,000 |
| 42 | Ecosystem Services Provided by Birds Christopher J. Whelan, Daniel G. Wenny, Robert J. Marquis · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences | Jun 2008 | 995 |
| 43 | Age, Sex, Density, Winter Weather, and Population Crashes in Soay Sheep Tim N Coulson, Edward Arthur Catchpole, Steve D. Albon et al. · Science | 25 May 2001 | 993 |
| 44 | Effects of elevated temperature on multi‐species interactions: the case of Pedunculate Oak, Winter Moth and Tits Alan Buse, S. Dury, R. J. W. Woodburn et al. · Functional Ecology | Jun 1999 | 990 |
| 45 | An Approach to the Study of Molts and Plumages Philip S. Humphrey, Kenneth C. Parkes · The Auk | 1959 | 989 |
| 46 | Female choice selects for extreme tail length in a widowbird Malte Andersson · Nature | Oct 1982 | 987 |
| 47 | ANALYZING ANIMAL MOVEMENTS USING BROWNIAN BRIDGES Jon S. Horne, Edward O. Garton, Stephen M. Krone et al. · Ecology | Sep 2007 | 960 |
| 48 | Developing indicators for European birds Richard D. Gregory, Arco J. Van Strien, Petr Voříšek et al. · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences | 28 Feb 2005 | 947 |
| 49 | ADVANCED TECHNIQUES FOR MODELING AVIAN NEST SURVIVAL Stephen J. Dinsmore, Gary C. White, Fritz L. Knopf · Ecology | Dec 2002 | 944 |
| 50 | The Ecology of Bird Communities Stephen Mark Redpath, John A. Wiens · Journal of Animal Ecology | 1994 | 942 |
Citations are OpenAlex's own counts, from its 2026-09-23 snapshot, so the ranking can differ from Google Scholar or Web of Science. A paper is listed for a field when OpenAlex files it under one of the field's topics; retracted papers and papers whose citation count cannot be traced to citing works are left out, and a preprint and the article it became are shown once. Release dates are OpenAlex's: where a source gave only a month or a year, that is what is shown. How the lists are chosen.