Nicholas Barry Davies facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nicholas Barry Davies FRS
Born	1952 (age 72–73)
Citizenship	British
Alma mater	University of Oxford University of Cambridge
Awards	ASAB Medal Frink Medal Croonian Medal
Scientific career
Fields	Zoology

Nicholas Barry Davies, born in 1952, is a British scientist who studies animals in their natural homes. He is known as a field naturalist and a zoologist. He used to be a professor at the University of Cambridge, where he taught about how animals behave in their environment. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a very important group for scientists.

Studying Animal Behavior

Professor Nick Davies is famous for his work in a field called behavioural ecology. This is the study of how animals act and why they behave the way they do. It looks at how their actions help them survive and have babies, based on their environment and how they interact with other animals.

The Secret Lives of Dunnocks

One of his most famous studies was about a small brown bird called the dunnock. He watched these birds very closely to see how they lived and raised their young. By using DNA, he could figure out which birds were the parents of the chicks. This helped him understand how the dunnocks' behavior affected their success in having babies.

Cuckoos and Their Clever Tricks

Professor Davies also spent a lot of time studying cuckoos. Cuckoos are known for being "brood parasites." This means they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, called "hosts." The host birds then raise the cuckoo chicks as their own.

His research showed that cuckoos and their host birds are in a kind of "evolutionary arms race." Cuckoos develop new ways to trick the host birds, like making their eggs look similar to the host's eggs. In response, the host birds develop ways to spot the cuckoo eggs and get rid of them. It's like a never-ending game of hide-and-seek!

Other Animal Studies

Professor Davies has also studied other interesting animal behaviors, including:

• How pied wagtails protect their feeding areas.
• How butterflies and toads behave when they are looking for a mate.
• How young birds become independent from their parents.

Awards and Honors

Professor Davies has received many important awards for his scientific work. Some of these include:

• The Scientific Medal from the Zoological Society of London in 1987.
• Becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1994. This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK.
• The University of Cambridge Teaching Prize in 1995.
• The Medal of the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour in 1996.
• The Frink Medal from the Zoological Society of London in 2001.
• The Elliott Coues Medal in 2005.
• The Croonian Medal and Lecture from the Royal Society in 2015.
• The Godman Salvin Medal in 2022.

His books about cuckoos, Cuckoos, Cowbirds and Other Cheats and Cuckoo - Cheating by Nature, both won the "Best Book of the Year Award" from the British Trust for Ornithology and British Birds.

In the Media

Professor Davies's research has also been featured in popular media, helping more people learn about animal behavior.

• In 2009, his cuckoo research was shown in a BBC Natural World program called "Cuckoo." It was narrated by the famous David Attenborough.
• In 2011, he presented a BBC Radio 4 show called 'The Cuckoo'.
• In 2016, he was the main topic of a BBC Radio documentary in 'The Life Scientific' series.
• He also appeared on BBC Radio 3's 'Private Passions' and BBC Radio 4's 'Natural Histories' series, both in 2017.