Oxford and Cambridge
Davies completed his Oxford doctorate in 1976 and subsequently held teaching and research appointments there. He joined Cambridge’s Department of Zoology and became a fellow of Pembroke College in 1979, later becoming professor of behavioural ecology. His work combines observations of animals with questions about behavioural adaptation.
Territories, mating and parental conflict
His earlier studies included territory economics in pied wagtails, contests and mate searching in butterflies and toads, and conflict as young birds become independent. Work on dunnocks and alpine accentors examined mating systems, sexual conflict and parental investment in their ecological and social settings.
References: [1]
Cuckoo–host coevolution
Davies has studied how cuckoos exploit host incubation and feeding and how hosts defend against brood parasitism. Topics include recognition and rejection of foreign eggs, cuckoo-chick begging signals, and adjustments to defence through individual and social learning. Parasite deception and host responses are investigated together.
References: [1]
Teaching behavioural ecology
With John Krebs and Stuart West, Davies coauthored the fourth edition of An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology, published in 2012. His 2015 book Cuckoo: Cheating by Nature brought long-term field research to a wider audience, relating these interactions to broader questions of behavioural evolution.
References: [1]