Literature search
We compiled a list of peer-reviewed scientific publications on avian
telomere dynamics from 2000 to 2020 using Google Scholar and Web of
Science as online search engines. We simultaneously used “telomere”,
“zebra finch”, and “birds” as keywords, including
“~” in front of every word to consider also potential
synonyms. A further search was performed also using the same keywords
individually to cross check the comprehensiveness of our results. We
performed the web search first considering the entire 20-year interval
and then on a year-by-year basis. We only recorded studies published in
peer reviewed journals and excluded thesis’, reviews, metanalyses and
preprints. We divided our total sample into two categories: 1) telomere
studies using the zebra finch, and 2) telomere studies using any species
other than zebra finch. For each category we listed the studies in
ascending chronological order, and for multiple publications within each
year we listed authors in alphabetical order. The results of our
literature search are summarized in Table 1 of Supplementary Materials.