Egg retrieval in ground-nesting cuckoo hosts: can two species of buntings accurately identify and retrieve their own eggs?

ABSTRACT: Egg retrieval in birds may help ensure the survival of eggs and improve reproductive success. However, with the risk of brood parasitism, for ground-nesting or cavity-nesting bird hosts, there is a significant reproductive cost and thus a reduction in fitness if the host wrongly retrieved the parasitic eggs. The south rock bunting (Emberiza yunnanensis) and yellow-throated bunting (E. elegans) are hosts for common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus), which coexist within the study area and breed sympatrically in ground nests. Previous studies have found that these two species exhibit strong egg recognition and egg rejection of non-mimetic eggs. In this study, red model eggs, budgerigar eggs, and the host's own eggs were used to assess the recognition and retrieval behavior of two bunting hosts, part

SUBMITTER: Zhang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11638421 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature