Our Phd student, Michelle Roper, successfully defended her PhD thesis on “Sexual dimorphism of song and life history trade-offs in the New Zealand bellbird.” Her research covered song development, sexual variation in song, syrinx structure and breeding biology of the New Zealand bellbird to further our understanding female birdsong. This provides the groundwork necessary to… Read More


Applications are open for the Environmental Student Partnership Programme at Auckland council. This is a great opportunity to gain valuable work experience, as well as the opportunity of funding during your MSc. For more info check out https://careers.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/jobdetails?ajid=emK3m… Read More


Wesley’s research has been featured on the Australasian Evolution Society website. See the link below. http://australasianevolutionsociety.com/2015/12/11/female-song-occurs-in-songbirds-with-more-elaborate-female-coloration-and-reduced-sexual-dichromatism/… Read More


Dianne Brunton and Michelle Roper attended a conference for the Australasian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASSAB) in Katoomba, Australia. Dianne gave a 3 minute speed talk on her research on scent in parrots. Michelle presented a poster on her preliminary results on the development of female song in the NZ bellbird. Dianne… Read More


A banded female bellbird from Tiritiri Matangi Island was found at Shakespear Regional Park! This bird was able to cross approximately 4km of sea to reach the mainland (not the bird pictured).… Read More