A Common Cuckoo being raised by a Reed Warbler.

Brood parasites are organisms that use the strategy of brood-parasitism, a kind of kleptoparasitism found among birds, fish or insects, involving the manipulation and use of host individuals either of the same (intraspecific brood-parasitism) or different species (inter-specific brood-parasitism) to raise the young of the brood-parasite. This relieves the parasitic parent from the investment of rearing young or building nests, enabling them to spend more time foraging, producing offspring etc. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (446x628, 67 KB) From the Norsk language wiki. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (446x628, 67 KB) From the Norsk language wiki. ... Binomial name Cuculus canorus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, the coucals, and the Hoatzin. ... Binomial name Acrocephalus scirpaceus (Hermann, 1804) The Eurasian Reed Warbler, or just Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus scirpaceus, is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. ... Kleptoparasitism (literally, parasitism by theft) is a form of feeding where one animal takes prey from another that has caught, killed, or otherwise prepared it. ... For other uses, see Bird (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Fish (disambiguation). ... Orders Subclass Apterygota Archaeognatha (bristletails) Thysanura (silverfish) Subclass Pterygota Infraclass Paleoptera (Probably paraphyletic) Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Infraclass Neoptera Superorder Exopterygota Grylloblattodea (ice-crawlers) Mantophasmatodea (gladiators) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Embioptera (webspinners) Zoraptera (angel insects) Dermaptera (earwigs) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, etc) Phasmatodea (stick insects) Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Psocoptera... A parasite is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life in or on the living tissue of a host organism and which causes harm to the host without immediately killing it. ... For other uses, see Nest (disambiguation). ... In biology, offspring are the product of reproduction, a new organism produced by one or more parents. ...

Avian brood parasites

The Goldeneye duck lays its eggs in the nests of other females.

In many monogamous bird species, there are extra-pair matings resulting in males outside the pair bond siring offspring and used by males to escape from the parental investment in raising their offspring.^[1] This form of cuckoldry is taken a step further when females lay their eggs in the nests of other individuals. Intraspecific brood parasitism is seen in a number of duck species with females laying their eggs in the nests of others for example in the Goldeneye, Bucephala clangula.^[2] In monogamy (Greek: monos = single/only and gamos = marriage) a person has only one spouse at a time (as opposed to polygamy). ... Robert Trivers theory of parental investment predicts that the sex making the largest investment in lactation, nurturing and protecting offspring will be more discriminating in mating and that the sex that invests less in offspring will compete for access to the higher investing sex. ... In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ... Subfamilies Dendrocygninae Oxyurinae Anatinae Aythyinae Merginae Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. ... Species ]][[Link title[[Link title </math>]]]] Goldeneye are small tree-hole nesting northern hemisphere seaducks belonging to the genus Bucephala. ...

Inter-specific brood-parasites include the Old World cuckoos in Eurasia and Australia, cowbirds and Black-headed Ducks in the Americas, and indigobirds, whydahs, and the honeyguides in Africa. Most avian brood parasites are specialists which will only parasitize a single host species or a small group of closely related host species, but four out of the five parasitic cowbirds are generalists, which parasitize a wide variety of hosts; the Brown-headed Cowbird has 221 known hosts. They usually only lay one egg per nest, although in some cases, particularly the cowbirds, several females may use the same host nest. The Old World consists of those parts of Earth known to Europeans, Asians, and Africans before the voyages of Christopher Columbus; it includes Europe, Asia, and Africa (collectively known as Africa-Eurasia), plus surrounding islands. ... Genera See text. ... For other uses, see Eurasia (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Heteronetta atricapilla (Merrem, 1841) The Black_headed Duck (Heteronetta atricapilla) is a South American duck allied to the stiff-tailed ducks in the subfamily Oxyurinae of the family Anatidae. ... Genus Vidua For the pirate ship Whydah, see Whydah Gally The Indigobirds and whydahs, are small passerine birds native to Africa. ... Genus Vidua For the pirate ship Whydah, see Whydah Gally The Indigobirds and whydahs, are small passerine birds native to Africa. ... Genera Indicator Melichneutes Prodotiscus Honeyguide birds, also known as honey birds, indicator birds, and simply honeyguides, (family Indicatoridae) are several dull-colored near passerine bird species of the order Piciformes, notable for their method of obtaining food. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... Binomial name Molothrus ater (Boddaert, 1783) The Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) is a small icterid. ... Species Molothrus rufoaxillaris Molothrus oryzivorus Molothrus aeneus Molothrus bonariensis Molothrus ater Cowbirds are birds belonging to the genus Molothrus in the family Icteridae. ...

The Common Cuckoo presents an interesting case in which the species as a whole parasitizes a wide variety of hosts, but individual females specialize in a single species. Genes regulating egg coloration appear to be passed down exclusively along the maternal line, allowing females to lay mimetic eggs in the nest of the species they specialize in. Females are thought to imprint upon the host species which raised them, and subsequently only parasitize nests of that species. Male Common Cuckoos will fertilize females of all lines, maintaining sufficient gene flow between the different maternal lines.^[3] Binomial name Cuculus canorus (Linnaeus, 1758) The Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, the coucals, and the Hoatzin. ... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Gene (disambiguation). ... Animal colouration has been a topic of interest and research in biology for well over a century. ... Mother with her child (Sculpture) A mother is typically the biological or social female parent of a child or offspring while the male parent is the father. ... Imprinting is the term used in psychology and ethology to describe any kind of phase-sensitive learning (learning occurring at a particular age or a particular life stage) that is rapid and apparently independent of the consequences of behavior. ... Categories: Biology stubs ... In population genetics, gene flow (also known as gene migration) is the transfer of alleles of genes from one population to another. ...

The mechanisms of host selection by female cuckoos are somewhat unclear, though several hypotheses have been suggested in attempt to explain the choice. These include genetic inheritance of host preference, host imprinting on young birds, returning to place of birth and subsequently choosing a host randomly (“natal philopatry”), choice based on preferred nest site (nest-site hypothesis), and choice based on preferred habitat (habitat-selection hypothesis). Of these hypotheses the nest-site selection and habitat selection have been most supported by experimental analysis.^[3][4] Biological inheritance is the process by which an offspring cell or organism acquires or becomes predisposed to characteristics of its parent cell or organism. ... Look up habitat in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Common adaptations of avian brood parasites

Among specialist avian brood parasites, mimetic eggs are a nearly universal adaptation. There is even some evidence that the generalist Brown-headed Cowbird may have evolved an egg coloration mimicking a number of their hosts ^[5]. For other uses, see Adaptation (disambiguation). ... A mimic is any species that has evolved to appear similar to another successful species in order to dupe predators into avoiding the mimic, or dupe prey into approaching the mimic. ...

Most avian brood parasites will remove a host egg when they lay one of their own in a nest. Depending upon the species, this can happen either in the same visit to the host nest or in a separate visit before or after the parasitism. This both prevents the host species from realizing their nest has been parasitized and reduces competition for the parasitic nestling once it hatches. Trees in this Bangladesh forest are in competition for light. ...

A Shiny Cowbird chick being fed by a Rufous-collared Sparrow

Most avian brood parasites have very short egg incubation periods and rapid nestling growth. This gives the parasitic nestling a head start on growth over its nestmates, allowing it to outcompete them. In cases where the host nestlings are significantly smaller than the parasite nestling, the hosts will often starve to death. Some brood parasites will eliminate all their nestmates shortly after hatching, either by ejecting them from the nest or killing them with sharp mandible hooks which fall off after a few days. Binomial name Molothrus bonariensis (Gmelin, 1788) The Shiny Cowbird, Molothrus bonariensis, is a passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. ... Binomial name Zonotrichia capensis (Muller, 1776) The Rufous-collared Sparrow, Zonotrichia capensis, is an American sparrow which breeds in highlands from the extreme southeast of Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, and on Hispaniola. ... The word incubate in the context of birds refers to the development of the chick (embryo) within the egg and the constant temperature required for the development of it over a specific period. ... This article is about extreme malnutrition. ... The mandible (from Latin mandibÅ­la, jawbone) or inferior maxillary bone is, together with the maxilla, the largest and strongest bone of the face. ...

The "Mafia hypothesis"

It has often been a question as to why the majority of the hosts of brood parasites care for the nestlings of their parasites. Not only do these brood parasites usually differ significantly in size and appearance, but it is highly probable that they reduce the reproductive success of their hosts. So what possible benefits are gained from providing this parental care? Through studies in an attempt to answer this question evolved the “Mafia hypothesis”. This hypothesis revolves around host manipulations induced by behaviors of the brood parasite. Upon the detection and rejection of a brood parasite’s egg, the host’s nest is depredated upon, its nest destroyed and nestlings injured or killed. This threatening response is indirectly enhancing selective pressures favoring aggressive parasite behavior that may result in positive feedback between Mafia-like parasite and compliant host behaviors.^[6] Reproductive success is defined as the passing of genes onto the next generation in a way that they too can pass those genes on. ... Natural selection is a process by which biological populations are altered over time, as a result of the propagation of heritable traits that affect the capacity of individual organisms to survive and reproduce. ... Aggression is defined as The act of initiating hostilities or invasion. ... Positive feedback is a feedback system in which the system responds to the perturbation in the same direction as the perturbation (It is sometimes referred to as cumulative causation). ...

There are 2 avian species that have been speculated to portray this mafia-like behavior, the brown-headed cowbird of North America, Molothrus ater, and the great spotted cuckoo of Europe, Clamator glandarius. The great spotted cuckoo lays the majority of its eggs in the nests of the European magpie, Pica pica. It has been observed that the great spotted cuckoo repeatedly visits the nests that it has parasitized, a precondition for the Mafia hypothesis.^[6] An experiment was run by Soler et al. from April to July, 1990-1992 in the high-altitude plateau Hoya de Guadix, Spain. They observed the effects of the removal of cuckoo eggs on the reproductive success of the magpie, and measured the magpie’s reaction; the egg was considered accepted if it remained in the nest, ejected if gone in between visits, or abandoned if the eggs were present but cold. If any nest contents were gone between consecutive visits, the nests were considered to have been depredated. The magpie’s reproductive success was measured by number of nestlings that survived to their last visit, which was just before the nestling had been predicted to fledge from the nest. The results from these experiments show that after the removal of the parasitic eggs from the great spotted cuckoo, these nests are depredated upon at much higher rates than those where the eggs were not removed. Through the use of plasticine eggs that model those of the magpie, it was confirmed that the nest destruction was caused by the great spotted cuckoo. This destruction benefits the cuckoo, for the possibility of re-nesting by the magpie allows another chance for the cuckoo egg to be accepted. Another similar experiment was done in 1996-2002 by Hoover et al. on the relationship between the parasitic brown-headed cowbird and its host, the prothonotary warbler, Protonotaria citrea. In their experiment, they manipulated the cowbird egg removal and cowbird access to the predator proof nests of the warbler.^[7] They found that 56% of egg ejected nests were depredated upon in comparison to 6% of non-ejected nests when cowbirds were not prevented from getting to the hosts nest. ^[7] Of the nests that were rebuilt by hosts that had previously been predated upon, 85% of those were destroyed.^[7] The number of young produced by the hosts that ejected eggs dropped 60% compared to those that accepted the cowbird eggs. Although there has not been a lot of experimentation performed to test this so-called “Mafia hypothesis”, these two experiments show rather convincing results. This article is about the criminal society. ... Binomial name Clamator glandarius (Linnaeus, 1758) The Great Spotted Cuckoo, Clamator glandarius, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, the coucals, and the Hoatzin. ... Binomial name Pica pica Linnaeus, (1758) The European Magpie (Pica pica) is a resident breeding bird throughout Europe, much of Asia, and northwest Africa. ... Fledge is the stage in a young birds life when the feathers and wing muscles are sufficiently developed for flight. ... Not to be confused with the Pleistocene epoch which is part of the geologic timescale. ... Binomial name Protonotaria citrea (Boddaert, 1783) The Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. ... In the scientific method, an experiment (Latin: ex- periri, of (or from) trying) is a set of observations performed in the context of solving a particular problem or question, to retain or falsify a hypothesis or research concerning phenomena. ...

The nest-site hypothesis

In this hypothesis, female cuckoos select a group of host species with similar nest sites and egg characteristics to her own. This population of potential hosts is monitored and a nest is chosen from within this group^[8]. Genera See text. ...

Research of nest collections has illustrated a significant level of similarity between cuckoo eggs and typical eggs of the host species. A low percentage of parasitized nests were shown to contain cuckoo eggs corresponding to the specific host egg morph. In these mismatched nests a high percent of the cuckoo eggs were shown to correlate to the egg morph of another host species with similar nesting sites. This has been pointed to as evidence for nest- site selection.^[8]

A criticism of the hypothesis is that it provides no mechanism by which nests are chosen, or which cues might be used to recognize such a site.^[9]

Host responses

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Given the detrimental effects avian brood parasites can have on their hosts' reproductive success, host species have come up with various defenses against this unique threat. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ...

Given that the cost of egg removal concurrent with parasitism is unrecoverable, the best defense for hosts is avoiding parasitism in the first place. This can take several forms, including selecting nest sites which are difficult to parasitize, starting incubation early so they are sitting on the nests when parasites visit them early in the morning, and aggressive territorial defense. Birds nesting in aggregations can also benefit from group defense. It has been suggested that intruder be merged into this article or section. ...

Once parasitism has occurred, the next most optimal defense is to eject the parasitic egg. This can be done by grasp ejection if the host has a large enough beak, or otherwise by puncture ejection. Ejection behavior has some costs however, especially when host species have to deal with mimetic eggs. In that case, hosts will inevitably mistake one of their own eggs for a parasite egg on occasion and eject it. In any case, hosts will sometimes damage their own eggs while trying to eject a parasite egg. The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which, in addition to eating, is used for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, probing for food, courtship, and feeding their young. ...

Among hosts not exhibiting parasitic egg ejection, some will abandon parasitized nests and start over again. However, at high enough parasitism frequencies, this becomes maladaptive as the new nest will most likely become reparasitized.

Other behavior can include modifying the nest to exclude the parasitic egg, either by weaving over the egg or in some cases rebuilding a new nest over the existing one.

Insect brood parasites

A cuckoo bee from the genus Nomada.

There are many different types of cuckoo bees, all of which are brood-parasitic insects, laying their eggs in the nest cells of other bees, but they are normally referred to as kleptoparasites, rather than as brood parasites. A family of Cuckoo wasps also exist, many of which lay their eggs in the nests of Potter and Mud dauber wasps, and many other lineages of wasps in various families have evolved similar habits. The term cuckoo bee is used for a variety of different bee lineages which have evolved the cleptoparasitic habit of laying their eggs in the nests of other bees, reminiscent of the behavior of cuckoo birds. ... The term cuckoo bee is used for a variety of different bee lineages which have evolved the cleptoparasitic habit of laying their eggs in the nests of other bees, reminiscent of the behavior of cuckoo birds. ... Subfamilies Amiseginae Chrysidinae Cleptinae Loboscelidiinae Commonly known as cuckoo wasps, the Hymenopteran family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species) of parasitoid or cleptoparasitic wasps, often highly sculptured, with brilliantly metallic bodies and bright coloration (thus the common names jewel wasp, gold wasp, or emerald wasp... Genera many (>200) Potter wasps (or mason wasps)also known as Dirt daubers are cosmopolitan wasps that are typically treated as a subfamily of Vespidae, but have in the past sometimes been recognized as a separate family, Eumenidae. ... Families Some Sphecidae and Crabronidae Mud dauber (sometimes dirt dauber or dirt dobber in the southern U.S.) is a name commonly applied to a number of wasps from either the family Sphecidae or Crabronidae that build their nests from mud. ... For other uses, see Wasp (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Host-parasite mimicry

References

External links

• Lowther, Peter E. (2005–2007). Brood Parasitism. The Field Museum. Retrieved on 2007-01-09. Includes links to host lists for all known brood-parasitic bird species.