Australian National University - Difficult Birds Research Group
With the DBRG I work assist the Tasmanian based group with a number of projects on Forty-spotted Pardalotes, Swift Parrots, Orange-bellied Parrots and Masked Owls. The birds we work on are difficult for many reason including because they live in hard to get areas (OBPs), they don't have a fixed abode (Swift Parrot), they nest 10->30m high (Forty-Spotted Pardalote and Swift Parrot) and they are almost always endangered.
You can find out more about the group and read our research at www.difficultbirds.com
You can also find us in Instagram and Facebook @DifficultBirds
In science we are already competing for a surprisingly small pot of money, the system rewards high data producing, non-field-based, short term projects. In summary the opposite of everything we do. Our research output is also often controversial, challenging industry and government to do better for the environment and our endangered species. This is why we have a DONATE button on our website. All donations are tax deductible and every little bit helps.
With the DBRG I work assist the Tasmanian based group with a number of projects on Forty-spotted Pardalotes, Swift Parrots, Orange-bellied Parrots and Masked Owls. The birds we work on are difficult for many reason including because they live in hard to get areas (OBPs), they don't have a fixed abode (Swift Parrot), they nest 10->30m high (Forty-Spotted Pardalote and Swift Parrot) and they are almost always endangered.
You can find out more about the group and read our research at www.difficultbirds.com
You can also find us in Instagram and Facebook @DifficultBirds
In science we are already competing for a surprisingly small pot of money, the system rewards high data producing, non-field-based, short term projects. In summary the opposite of everything we do. Our research output is also often controversial, challenging industry and government to do better for the environment and our endangered species. This is why we have a DONATE button on our website. All donations are tax deductible and every little bit helps.

Resolving Group Conflicts: Aggression in Crimson Finches (Neochmia phaeton)
PhD thesis with Dr Sarah Pryke and Prof Pat Backwell
Supervisory Panel: Dr Kristal Cain, Dr Nina Svedin, Prof Robert Heinsohn (co-supervisor)
Elaborate colour displays are often used in sexual selection to attract mates or repel males. To compliment previous work on aggression and colour by other member of the lab (e.g. Gouldian finches by Dr Sarah Pryke), my current research investigates the role of aggression in crimson finch societies. Known in aviculture as the blood finches or often ‘red devils’, crimson finches are very aggressive and yet live and breed in year round colonies. My work is investigating the function of the bright red plumage colouration in males, as well as the underlying mechanisms and function of overt aggression in this group-living species.
PhD thesis with Dr Sarah Pryke and Prof Pat Backwell
Supervisory Panel: Dr Kristal Cain, Dr Nina Svedin, Prof Robert Heinsohn (co-supervisor)
Elaborate colour displays are often used in sexual selection to attract mates or repel males. To compliment previous work on aggression and colour by other member of the lab (e.g. Gouldian finches by Dr Sarah Pryke), my current research investigates the role of aggression in crimson finch societies. Known in aviculture as the blood finches or often ‘red devils’, crimson finches are very aggressive and yet live and breed in year round colonies. My work is investigating the function of the bright red plumage colouration in males, as well as the underlying mechanisms and function of overt aggression in this group-living species.

Young, C.M., Cain, K.E., Svedin, N.S., Backwell, P.R.Y. and Pryke, S.R. (2019) Breeding biology of Crimson Finches (Neochmia phaeton) in the eastern Kimberley, Western Australia. Emu 119:106-115
Young, C.M., Cain, K.E., Svedin, N.S., Backwell, P.R.Y. and Pryke, S.R. (2017) Predictors of aggressive response towards simulated intruders depend on context and sex in Crimson Finches. Behavioral Processes. 138:41-48
Young, C.M., Cain, K.E., Svedin, N.S., Backwell, P.R.Y. and Pryke, S. R. (2016). The role of pigment based plumage in resolving contests. Journal of Avian Biology. 47:1167-1175.
Young, C.M., Cain, K.E., Svedin, N.S., Backwell, P.R.Y. and Pryke, S.R. (2017) Nesting success in crimson finches: Chance or choice? Ethology. 123:41-50
Young, C.M., Cain, K.E., Svedin, N.S., Backwell, P.R.Y. and Pryke, S.R. (2017) Predictors of aggressive response towards simulated intruders depend on context and sex in Crimson Finches. Behavioral Processes. 138:41-48
Young, C.M., Cain, K.E., Svedin, N.S., Backwell, P.R.Y. and Pryke, S. R. (2016). The role of pigment based plumage in resolving contests. Journal of Avian Biology. 47:1167-1175.
Young, C.M., Cain, K.E., Svedin, N.S., Backwell, P.R.Y. and Pryke, S.R. (2017) Nesting success in crimson finches: Chance or choice? Ethology. 123:41-50
Individual contributions to care in the cooperatively breeding Chestnut-crowned Babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps)
Honours thesis with Dr Simon Griffith and Dr Andrew Russell
Honours thesis with Dr Simon Griffith and Dr Andrew Russell
Despite huge interest in cooperative breeding, detailed research into individual contributions to nestling provisioning has been limited. Following on from preliminary data collected during my honours year we
used passive integrated transponders (PIT tags) along with internal nest cameras to investigate nestling provisioning by members of chestnut-crowned babbler groups. Specifically we were interested in the use of 'false feeding' as a deceptive tactic by individuals to increase their perceived level of nestling care and therefore their perceived contribution to cooperative activities (paper below). We also Work was done through the University of NSW and Macquarie University in collaboration with Cambridge and Sheffield Universities in the UK. Publications: Young, C.M., Browning, L.E., Savage, J.L., Griffith, S.C. and Russell, A.F. 2013. No evidence for deception over allocation to brood care in a cooperative bird. Behavioral Ecology 24:70-81 Browning, L.E., Young, C.M., Savage, J.L., Russell, D.J.F., Barclay, H., Griffith, S.G. and Russell, A.F. 2012. Carer provisioning rules in an obligate cooperative breeder: prey type, size and delivery rate. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 66(12):1639-1649 In the media: ABC Science - Birds of a feather work together The Conversation - Babblers show why birds of a feather stick together |
Other research experience
- Banding the endemic passerines of Norfolk Island - Monash University, Melbourne
- Goudlian (Erythrura gouldiae) and Long-tailed finches (Poephila acuticauda) (Western Aust) - Save the Gouldian Fund and Macquarie University, Sydney
- Radio-tracking New Holland Mouse (Pseudomys novaehollandiae), Mulligans Flat, ACT
- Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla) (Tasmania) - Bern University and The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala
- Slender Mongoose (Galerella sanguinea) (South Africa) – Department of Animal Behaviour, University of Zurich
- Chestnut-crowned Babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps) and Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata)- Center for the Integrated study of Animal Behaviour, Macquarie University, Sydney & Department of Animal & Plant Sciences, Sheffield University
- Black Field Cricket (Teleogryllus commodus) and Bean Beetle (Callosobruchus maculates) - Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, University of New South Wales, Sydney