Closing 30 September 2025

We are offering a research scholarship to a highly motivated PhD candidate to investigate the vocal mimicry of the tooth-billed bowerbird (Scenopoeetes dentirostris).

The PhD will be based at The Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at Western Sydney University and will be part of an Australian Research Council Discovery Project investigating vocal mimicry in Australian songbirds.
The project: Vocal mimicry is widespread among songbirds, yet much remains unknown about the evolutionary origin and maintenance of this trait. Increasing our knowledge of the ecology of vocal mimicry in the region where birdsong began – Australia – will help provide a more thorough understanding of vocal mimicry and the evolution of vocal learning.

The tooth-billed bowerbird is a versatile vocal mimic restricted to the tropical montane forests of north Queensland. Little is known about the form and function of their vocal mimicry, especially outside male courtship displays.
This PhD project will combine fieldwork with data analysis to assess vocal mimicry in tooth-billed bowerbirds in both sexes and across socioecological contexts, including at display courts and nests. This project will then synthesise this new knowledge in the context of other known Australian vocal mimics.

The PhD candidate will be supervised by Dr Anastasia Dalziell (HIE) together with Prof Justin Welbergen (HIE) and Dr Fiona Backhouse (HIE), and in collaboration with researchers involved in the ARC Discovery Project including from The Australian National University, Exeter University (UK), and the University of the Pacific (USA).

Start date: October 2025 or by negotiation

Open to: Domestic candidates (Australian citizens, permanent residents of Australia, permanent visa holders of Australia, and New Zealand citizens)

More information: Contact Dr Anastasia Dalziell

See also www.lyrebirdlab.org & www.animalecologylab.org

Full details and how to apply:
https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/schools/grs/scholarships/current_scholarships/current_scholarships/vocal_mimicry_in_the_tooth-billed_bowerbird