Iliana Medina – The Conversation

European stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) eating a butterfly with black-and-orange warning colours. Stanislav Harvancik

September 25, 2025

Warn, hide or stand out? How colour in the animal world is a battle for survival

Iliana Medina, The University of Melbourne; Alice Exnerova, Charles University; Amanda M Franklin, La Trobe University; Kate Umbers, Western Sydney University, and William Allen, Swansea University

A global experiment has helped explain why some animals use stealthy patterns to hide from predators, while others use warning colours to avoid being eaten.

A superb fairy wren foster parent about to feed a Horsfield’s bronze cuckoo chick. Mark Lethlean

May 30, 2024

What’s that in my nest? How the evolutionary arms race between cuckoos and hosts creates new species

Naomi Langmore, Australian National University; Alicia Grealy, CSIRO; Clare Holleley, CSIRO, and Iliana Medina, The University of Melbourne

New research on cuckoos suggests the battle between exploiters and victims may be a key reason for life’s enormous diversity.

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