Despite major differences between human and avian colour vision, previous studies of
cuckoo egg mimicry have used human colour vision (or standards based thereon) to assess …

The village weaverbird, Ploceus cucullatus, lays eggs of an extremely broad range of
appearance between individuals. This variation is thought to have evolved as a …

Nestlings of some brood parasitic birds evict hosts' eggs and young soon after hatching,
thereby avoiding discrimination by hosts while monopolizing parental care. Eviction carries …

One of the great evolutionary puzzles is why hosts of parasitic birds discriminate finely
against alien eggs, but almost never discriminate against parasitic chicks. A theoretical …

Prevailing theory assumes cuckoos lay at random among host nests within a population,
although it has been suggested that cuckoos could choose large nests and relatively active …

The brood parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus consists of gentes, which typically
parasitize only a single host species whose eggs they often mimic. Where multiple cuckoo …

Parasitic cuckoos lay eggs that mimic those of their hosts, and such close phenotypic
matching may arise from coevolutionary interactions between parasite and host. However …

Common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) are obligate brood parasites, laying eggs into nests of
small songbirds. The cuckoo hatchling evicts all eggs and young from a nest, eliminating …

Coevolutionary arms races, where adaptations in one party select for counter-adaptations in
another and vice versa, are fundamental to interactions between organisms and their …

Results: None of the previously suggested hypotheses appears to provide a general
explanation for the scarcity of chick discrimination. Various cognitive and behavioural traits …