Birds Find Ways to Avoid Raising Cuckoos' Young

Apr. 8, 2013 — Study suggests swallows and martins breed indoors and close to humans to avoid having to rear cuckoos.

Some species of birds reproduce not by rearing their own young, but by handing that task on to adults of other species. Known as brood parasitism, this habit has been most thoroughly researched in the cuckoo. Previous research has found, however, that the nests of martins and swallows in Europe are rarely parasitized by cuckoos. A new study by Wen Liang from the Hainan Normal University in China and his colleagues suggests that swallows build their nests close to humans to reduce their susceptibility to brood parasitism..

The findings are published in Springer's journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

When a cuckoo egg is placed in a host nest, the host may either recognize that the egg is not one of its own and eject it from the nest, or it incubates and hatches the cuckoo egg. If the cuckoo egg hatches, the fledgling will usually push any other eggs and nestlings it encounters over the edge of the nest. Once the host parents are deprived of their rightful young, they devote all their time and energy to feeding the young cuckoo.

Cuckoos tend not to inhabit villages, towns and cities and prefer to nest in open areas. The researchers suggest that the low rates of brood parasitism of swallows and martins in Europe could be caused by these birds now breeding in close association with humans and building their nests inside buildings. The barn swallow in China still nests predominantly outside but, interestingly, has low rates of parasitism by cuckoos.

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130408103302.htm