I began working with hihi in 2014, when I started my PhD at the University of Cambridge and Zoological Society of London (supervised by Dr Rose Thorogood and Dr John Ewen). I am interested in how young hihi use social relationships when learning new behaviours, and how this may be important for conservation, when translocating groups to new sites. To assist this research, I am using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags as a new monitoring system in the hihi population on Tiritiri Matangi Island.
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Published in: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Authors: Victoria R. Franks, Mhairi McCready, James L. Savage and Rose Thorogood Abstract: Many young birds die soon after fledging, as they lack the skills to ï¬nd food and avoid predation. Post-fledging parental care is assumed to assist acquisition of these vital skills. However, we still lack empirical examples […]
Older and wiser? Age differences in foraging and learning by an endangered passerine Published in: Behavioural Processes Authors: Victoria R. Franks & Rose Thorogood Abstract: Birds use cues when foraging to help relocate food resources, but natural environments provide many potential cues and choosing which to use may depend on previous experience. Young animals […]
I’m a second year PhD student at the University of Cambridge and Zoological Society of London, researching hihi social behaviour in the population on Tiritiri Matangi Island. One of the most common questions I’m asked by visitors to the island is “what’s a researcher from the UK doing working with a bird on an island […]
