Cuckoo brood-parasitism in birds

My interest in brood-parasitism was fostered during my work as research assistant for Dr N E Langmore (ANU) and Dr R Kilner (Cambridge). In their ARC funded project 'Host defences to cuckoo parasitism' they investigate how superb fairy wrens (Malurus cyaneus) and thornbills (Acanthiza spp.) deal with parasitism by shining (Chalcites lucidus) and Horsfield's bronze-cuckoos (C. basalis). My tasks involved finding nests with cuckoo eggs and conducting experiments, especially on egg recognition [PDF]. For more details on this research please see the web-pages of Dr Langmore and Dr Kilner.