Obligate avian brood parasites lay their eggs in the nest of other species and impose
reproductive costs upon their hosts. In response, many hosts have evolved a variety of …

The role of species interactions, as well as genetic and environmental factors, all likely
contribute to the composition and structure of the gut microbiome; however, disentangling …

Generalist brood parasites that share nests with host nestlings can optimize resource
acquisition from host parents by balancing the benefits that host nest-mates provide …

Avian obligate brood parasites rely on other species to raise their offspring. In turn, many
brood parasite hosts have evolved defensive behaviors to reduce the costs of brood …

Acceptance of avian brood parasitism by hosts is one of the most enigmatic aspects of brood
parasite–host coevolution. The most common explanation for acceptance of parasitism by …

Egg rejection is the most effective and widespread defense used by host species to
counteract the extreme fitness costs frequently imposed by obligate avian brood parasites …

Communication between parents and dependent offspring is critical not only during
provisioning, but also in antipredator contexts. In altricial birds, a top cause of reproductive …

Obligate avian brood parasites lay their eggs in the nest of other bird species, known as
hosts. Brood parasitism often imposes severe fitness costs on hosts, selecting for the …

Parental care can be costly to parents' fitness. As such, abandonment of the current
reproductive attempt may benefit potential future opportunities, maximising lifetime …

One of the most effective defenses of avian hosts against obligate brood parasites is the
ejection of parasitic eggs from the nests. Despite the clear fitness benefits of this behavior …