Biography

Vicky is a behavioral ecologist with a particular passion for bird vocalizations, female bird song and bioacoustics. Vicky’s PhD work at the Lab of Animal Ecology at Western Sydney University focused on the structure and function of vocalizations in female superb lyrebirds, an oscine passerine famous for its spectacular mimetic abilities. While completing her PhD, Vicky received a Fulbright Scholarship and attended Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology as a visiting fellow. Vicky has worked on many aspects of behavioral ecology across numerous bird species including waterfowl, burrowing owls, chirruping wedgebills. Before coming to CSU, Vicky completed a post-doc at the BirdLab at Flinders University where she examined maternal effects, female song and embryonic learning in superb fairy-wrens. Vicky has also worked for the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute where she developed citizen science projects. Her current research interests include the use of AI in bioacoustics for the conservation of woodland birds, the use of large datasets for better understanding bird behavior and all aspects of female bird behavior and song.

A strong advocate for open and clear science communication, Vicky is a frequent contributor to the scientific communication space and has appeared in documentaries “Wild Australia: After the Fires” (ABC) and “David Attenborough’s Wonder of Song” (BBC) and podcasts “Off Track” (ABC), “What The Duck?!” (ABC) and “The Weekend Birder”. Vicky is passionate about citizen science and community outreach and regularly gives public talks to community groups.