Areas of expertise
- Biogeography And Phylogeography 060302
- Animal Systematics And Taxonomy 060301
- Life Histories 060308
- Plant Systematics And Taxonomy 060310
- Behavioural Ecology 060201
- Animal Physiology Systems 060603
- Population Ecology 060207
- Performance And Installation Art 190504
- Conservation And Biodiversity 050202
- Environmental Impact Assessment 050204
- Ecology 0602
- Other Biological Sciences 0699
- Zoology 0608
- Visual Arts And Crafts 1905
Biography
Dr Penny Olsen is an Honorary Professor in the Division of Ecology, Evolution and Genetics at The Australian National University. After a career as a field biologist and ecological consultant, she has is now mostly occupied writing books about Australian natural history and its recorders, both artistic and scientific. In 2011 she was invested as a Member of the Order of the Australia for her for ‘service to the conservation sciences through the study and documentation of Australian bird species and their history.’ Having just published a book about indigenous Australians' contributions to our understanding of Australia's fauna – Australia's First Zoologists – she is working on a bird book for children and a social history of the Budgerigar.
Current student projects
Simon Cherriman - Population status and movement ecology of rthe Wedge-tailed Eagle in Western Australia
Past student projects
Janet Gardner
Karen Ikin (nee Stagoll)
Carolyn Blackmore: The breeding biology and behaviour of the grey-crowned babbler ( Pomatostomus temporalis )
Debbie Saunders: Swift Parrot winter habitat identification
Stuart Cooney: The breeding ecology of the hooded parrot ( Psephotus dissimilis )
Robert Gosford: Ethno-biological source material for avian population histories: an assessment of material relevant to the avian populations of three central Australian Bioregions
Andrew Burton: Burton, A.M. 1991. Resource partitioning between two sympatric goshawks in the Australian wet tropics. PhD thesis, James Cook University
Mark Boulet: Boulet, M. 1997. Parental resource allocation to offspring in the Peregrine Falcon. Honours thesis, ANU
Janet Gardner: Gardner, J.L. 2002. Social behaviour and breeding biology of the Speckled Warbler. PhD thesis, ANU
Tom Aumann: Aumann, T. 1999. Riparian raptor assemblages in the Australian arid zone. PhD thesis, ANU
Paul McDonald: McDonald, P. 2003. Reproductive success, dimorphism and sex allocation in the Brown Falcon Falco berigora. PhD thesis, ANU
Jill Shephard: Shephard, J.M. 2003. A multi-scale approach to defining historical and contemporary factors responsible for the current distribution of te White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster ( Gmelin, 1788) I Australia. PhD thesis, Griffith University
Publications
- Olsen, P & Menkhorst, P 2020, 'A recent investigation highlights the importance of honesty in ornithology and conservation', Emu - Austral Ornithology, vol. 120, no. 2, pp. 178-180.
- Olsen, P & Rae, S 2017, 'Invalid evidence for purported 'collapse' in the number of breeding little eagles in the Australian Capital Territory', Canberra Bird Notes, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 245-249pp.
- Olsen, P, Austin, J, Murphy, S et al 2016, 'The only known egg of the Night Parrot? A molecular and morphometric assessment of an alleged egg from the Tanami Desert', Australian Field Ornithology, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 211-214.
- Olsen, P 2013, Collecting Ladies, Ferdinand Von Mueller and Women Botanical Artists, National Library of Australia, Canberra.
- Olsen, P 2013, A Botanical Life: Robert David Fitzgerald, National Library of Australia, Canberra.
- Olsen, P 2013, Cayley and Son: The Life and Art of Neville Henry Cayley and Neville William Cayley, National Library of Australia, Canberra.
- Garnett, S, Olsen, P, Butchart, S et al 2011, 'Did hybridization save the Norfolk Island boobook owl Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata?', Oryx: Journal of Fauna and Flora International, vol. 45, no. 4, pp. 500-504.
- Braby, M & Olsen, P 2011, A Flutter of Butterflies, National Library of Australia, Canberra, ACT.
- Olsen, P & Joseph, L 2011, Stray Feathers: Reflections on the Structure, Behaviour and Evolution of Birds, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne Australia.
- Olsen, P 2010, Upside Down World: Early European Impressions of Australia's Curious Animals, National Library of Australia, Canberra.
- Olsen, P 2010, Nature seems determined to have a bit of a play, pp. 2-7pp.
- Olsen, P & Cunningham, R 2008, Data Brief: Biodiversity - bird distribution and abundance.
- Olsen, P, Barry, S, Baker, G et al 1998, 'Assortative mating in falcons: Do big females pair with big males?', Journal of Avian Biology, vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 197-200.
- Cunningham, R & Olsen, P 2009, 'A statistical methodology for tracking long-term change in reporting rates of birds from volunteer-collected presence-absence data', Biodiversity and Conservation, vol. 18, pp. 1305-1327.
- Olsen, P 2009, 'Night Parrots: Fugitives of the Inland', in Libby Robin, Robert Heinsohn, Leo Joseph (ed.), Boom and Bust: Bird Stories for a Dry Country, CSIRO Publishing, Canberra, Australia, pp. 121-146.
- Cooney, S, Olsen, P & Garnett, S 2009, 'Ecology of the coprophagous moth Trisyntopa neossophila Edwards (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae)', Australian Journal of Entomology, vol. 48, pp. 97-101.
- Olsen, P 2008, 'Urbanisation and other Human Population Pressures', Wingspan, vol. 18, no. 4, p. 9.
- Olsen, P 2008, 'Wildlife of Australia - a nature photographer's journey', in (ed.), Wildlife of Australia - a nature photographer's journey, Reed New Holland, Australia, p. 2.
- Olsen, P 2008, 'Introduction [to A Brush with Birds]', in Joanna Karmel (ed.), A Brush with Birds, National Library of Australia, Australia, pp. 1-13.
- Olsen, P & Silcocks, A 2008, 'The Atlas of Australian Birds: National Trends', Wingspan, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 17-19.
- Olsen, P 2008, 'Performance of Governments and the Rise of the Private Conservation Sector', Wingspan, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 38-39.
- Olsen, P & Ward, R 2008, 'Tasman (Green) Parrot', Wingspan, vol. 18, no. 4, p. 33.
- Olsen, P 2008, 'Trouble on the Western Front', Wingspan, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 12-13.
- Olsen, P 2008, Further Glimpses of Mr Gilbert's 'Beautiful Parrakeet', National Library of Australia News.
- Olsen, P 2007, 'Birds as Postal Tender', Wingspan, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 30-33.
- Olsen, P 2007, Glimpses of paradise: quest for the beautiful parrakeet, National Library of Australia, Canberra.
- Edwards, T, Cooney, S, Olsen, P et al 2007, 'A new species of Trisyntopa Lower (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae) associated with the nests of the hooded parrot (Psephotus dissimilis, Psittacidae) in the Northern Territory', Australian Journal of Entomology, vol. 46, pp. 276-280.
- Shephard, J, Hughes, J, Catterall, C et al 2005, 'Conservation status of the White-Bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster in Australia determined using mtDNA control region sequence data', Conservation Genetics, vol. 6, pp. 413-429.
- McDonald, P, Olsen, P & Cockburn, A 2005, 'Sex allocation and nestling survival in a dimorphic raptor: does size matter?', Behavioral Ecology, vol. 16, pp. 922-930.
- McDonald, P, Olsen, P & Cockburn, A 2005, 'Selection on body size in a raptor with pronounced reversed sexual size dimorphism: are bigger females better?', Behavioral Ecology, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 48-56.
- Olsen, P 2005, Wedge-Tailed Eagle, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria.
- McDonald, P, Olsen, P & Cockburn, A 2004, 'Weather dictates reproductive success and survival in the Australian brown falcon Falco berigora', Journal of Animal Ecology, vol. 73, pp. 683-692.
- Gardner, J, Magrath, R & Olsen, P 2004, 'Speckled warblers break cooperative rules: absence of helping in a group-living member of the Pardalotidae', Animal Behaviour, vol. 67, pp. 719-728.
- Olsen, P, Weston, M & Silcocks, A 2003, 'The State of Australia's Birds 2003', Wingspan, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 1-24.
- McDonald, P, Olsen, P & Baker-Gabb, D 2003, 'Territory fidelity, reproductive success and prey choice in the brown falcon, Falco berigora: a flexible bet-hedger?', Australian Journal of Zoology, vol. 51, pp. 399-414.
- Olsen, P 2003, 'Hawks and eagles (Accipitridae)', in Bernard Grzimek (ed.), Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia (2nd ed), Thomson Gale, New York USA, pp. 317-341pp.
- Olsen, P 2003, 'Falcons and caracaras (Falconidae)', in Bernard Grzimek (ed.), Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia (2nd ed), Thomson Gale, New York USA, pp. 347-362pp.
- Olsen, P 2003, 'What is a bird?', in Bernard Grzimek (ed.), Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia (2nd ed), Thomson Gale, New York USA, pp. 3-18pp.
- Olsen, P 2002, 'Birds of a feather: a century of austral ornithology', Emu - Austral Ornithology, vol. 102, p. 4.
- Olsen, P & Doran, B 2002, 'Climatic modelling of the Australian distribution of the grass owl (Tyto capensis): is there an inland population?', Wildlife Research, vol. 29, pp. 117-125.
- Olsen, P 2001, Australian bird art - Too brief a history, pp. 24-29.
- Boulet, M, Olsen, P, Cockburn, A et al 2001, 'Parental investment in male and female offspring by the Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus', Emu - Austral Ornithology, vol. 101, pp. 95-103.
- Olsen, P 2001, Feather and brush: three centuries of Australian bird art, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Australia.
- Olsen, P & Baker, G 2001, 'Daytime incubation temperatures in nests of the Nankeen Kestrel, Falco cenchroides', Emu - Austral Ornithology, vol. 101, pp. 255-258.
- Debus, S & Olsen, P 2001, Grey falcons and other raptors, pp. 12-17.
- Burton, A & Olsen, P 2000, 'Niche Partitioning by Two Sympatric Goshawks in the Australian Wet Tropics: Ranging Behaviour', Emu - Austral Ornithology, vol. 100, pp. 216-226.
- Burton, A & Olsen, P 2000, 'Management of exotic pine plantations in northeast Queensland for goshawks', Australian Forestry, vol. 63, no. 3, pp. 174-180.
