Mimicry of a harmless model (aggressive mimicry) is used by egg, chick and fledgling brood
parasites that resemble the host's own eggs, chicks and fledglings. However, aggressive …

Egg mimicry by obligate avian brood parasites and host rejection of non-mimetic eggs are
well-known textbook examples of host–parasite coevolution. By contrast, reciprocal …

Avian brood parasites pose a serious threat to hosts, substantially reducing their fitness,
which selects for the evolution of host defences. A classic example of a host frontline …

Avian obligate brood parasites and their hosts exhibit coevolution, where parasites respond
to the evolution of host defences with counter-adaptations, such as egg mimicry, which can …

Fitness costs associated with brood parasitism have led host species to evolve several lines
of defence. The first two lines of defence, aggression against adult parasites and egg …

This fascinating study describes the natural histories of these brood parasites and examines
many of the exciting questions they raise about the evolution of cheating and the arms race …

Laying a mimetic egg is important for a brood parasite to succeed in defeating the defenses
of a host that can recognize and reject nonmimetic foreign eggs. Several recent studies …

Brood parasitism by cuckoos imposes high reproductive costs on hosts, selecting for the
evolution of host defences. Cuckoos retaliate by evolving counter-adaptations to host …

Highlights•Some hosts of brood parasites do not reject parasitic eggs or chicks.•Absence of
main defence types may trigger the evolution of less common defences.•Our study species …

Fitness costs imposed by the common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, on its hosts select for host
defences such as nest defence and egg discrimination. The efficiency of both types of …