Parenting can be lots of work for a bird: all that flying back and forth transporting grubs and insects to a nest of demanding young. But some birds manage to forgo caring for their chicks — while ...

There is an azure blue egg hidden in a hanging basket of ferns on our front porch. It belongs to a female house finch that just about caromed off my forehead last week when I tipped a watering can ...

One of the most interesting topics discussed in my Ornithology class was about the “con artists” found in nature… Brood parasitism occurs when a female bird (the parasite) lays her eggs in the nest of ...

Brood parasites are some of the bird kingdom’s most notorious sneaks. They don’t rear their own young but instead pawn the task of child care off onto other species without their knowledge. Instead of ...

Some birds lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species and let the host parents raise their young. A new study finds that in times of environmental flux, these brood parasites "diversify their ...

Brood parasitic birds lay their eggs in the nests of others, sparing themselves the expense of rearing their own young. The resulting coevolutionary arms race includes sophisticated defenses by hosts ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Common cuckoos aren’t known for being model parents. Rather than ...

This is a preview. Log in through your library . Abstract Interspecific brood parasitism is common in many animal systems. Brood parasites enter the nests of other species and divert host resources ...

Female brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) singing at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge near New York City. (Credit: Rhododendrites / CC BY-SA 4.0) Brown-headed cowbirds, Molothrus ater, are fascinating ...

New research finds that brood parasites living in more variable and unpredictable habitats tend to parasitize -- or squat and drop their eggs in -- the nests of a greater variety and number of hosts.

Eye size likely plays a role in the contest between avian brood parasites -- birds that lay their eggs in the nests of other species -- and their hosts, who sometimes detect the foreign eggs and eject ...

Parasites reduce host fitness, and so instigate counter adaptations by their hosts. In temporary social parasitism, usurpers must not only enter the colony unharmed, but also have their eggs reared by ...