Female birdsong is unusual in the northern hemisphere, so why do females of so many Australian species sing?

A historic bias towards behavioural studies in the temperate northern hemisphere has led to the perception that song in female birds is rare and anomalous behaviour. However, recent studies have revealed that female song and duetting are widespread in the tropics and the southern hemisphere. In collaboration with Katharina Riebel (University of Leiden),  Michelle Hall (Max Planck Institute) and Karan Odom (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) I aim to explain this latitudinal divide by exploring the social and ecological conditions associated with female song.