scholarly journals Daurian redstart Phoenicurus auroreus is a host for the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus during the second, but not the first cultch

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinggang Zhang ◽  
Anders Pape Møller ◽  
Denghui Yan ◽  
Wenhong Deng
Keyword(s):  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Egg Ejection ◽  
Cavity Nesting ◽  
Breeding Grounds ◽  
Breeding Attempt ◽  
Human Habitation ◽  
The Common ◽  
Second Clutch ◽  
Cavity Nests

Abstract Background: Coevolution in cavity-nesting host-cuckoo systems may differ from those in open-nesting hosts due to unique conditions in cavity nests. We investigated brood parasitism in Daurian redstarts ( Phoenicurus auroreus ), a regular cavity-nesting host of common cuckoos ( Cuculus canorus ).Results: A total of 15.6% ( n =358) of host nests were parasitized by cuckoos. Cuckoos were highly successful in parasitizing Daurian redstart nests: nearly all cuckoo eggs were laid in the nest cup, and all cuckoo chicks evicted all host offspring. However, egg ejection by Daurian redstarts was egg morph specific, i.e. hosts laying white eggs ejected most real cuckoo eggs, while hosts laying blue eggs did not eject any. In contrast, hosts ejected most mimetic cuckoo eggs. Moreover, most Daurian redstarts moved to nearby villages during the second breeding attempts, where the risk of cuckoo parasitism was reduced. Parasitism only occurred during the second breeding attempt, since cuckoos had not yet arrived at the breeding grounds when hosts started to lay their first clutches, which may indicate a novel and unique anti-parasite defense, advancing breeding time of hosts.Conclusions: Our results suggest that Daurian redstarts suffer from high risk of cuckoo parasitism showing more intense egg ejection while building nests closer to human habitation in the second clutch. This suggests that cavity-nesting hosts may show adaptations to brood parasites that differ from those of open-nesting hosts.

scholarly journals Fast and furious: host aggression modulates behaviour of brood parasites

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Václav Jelínek ◽  
Michal Šulc ◽  
Gabriela Štětková ◽  
Marcel Honza
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Nest Defence ◽  
Great Reed Warbler ◽  
Acrocephalus Arundinaceus ◽  
Brood Parasite ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
The Common

ABSTRACTAvian brood parasites pose a serious threat for hosts, substantially reducing their fitness which selects for the evolution of host defences. A classic example of a host frontline defence is mobbing which frequently includes contact attacking of brood parasites. Here, we investigated how the nest defence of a very aggressive great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) host influences the speed of egg-laying and egg-removing behaviour of its brood parasite – the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). We video-recorded 168 brood parasitic events at 102 active host nests and found that cuckoos avoided host mobbing in only 62% of cases. If hosts spotted the cuckoo at their nests, they almost always attacked it (in 91 of 104 cases), however, such attacks only rarely and temporarily prevented cuckoos from parasitizing (11 additional cases). When attacked, cuckoos parasitized host nests significantly faster and left them immediately. However, when not attacked, cuckoos frequently stayed at or near the nest suggesting that host aggression, rather than the risk of being spotted, influences the speed of brood parasitism in this species. Further, we found that cuckoos performed egg-removing behaviour in all parasitic events without regard to host aggression. As a result, cuckoos removed at least one egg during all brood parasitism events except those when an egg slipped from their beaks and fell back into the nest (in 9 of 73 cases). This indicates that egg-removing behaviour is not costly for the common cuckoo and is an essential part of its parasitism strategy, widening understanding of this currently unexplained behaviour.

scholarly journals Killing behaviour of adult brood parasites

Behaviour ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 157 (12-13) ◽  
pp. 1099-1111 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Šulc ◽  
G. Štětková ◽  
V. Jelínek ◽  
B. Czyż ◽  
A. Dyrcz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Video Recording ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
The Common

Abstract Decades of studies have revealed the striking adaptations of avian brood parasites for their unique reproductive lifestyle. Several have reported that adult brood parasites sometimes kill host nestlings, although the reasons for this behaviour remain unclear. Using continuous video-recording and camera traps, we observed the same behaviour in the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus, showing that both host and parasite nestlings can be killed. The latter has never previously been observed in cuckoos. Here, we review this phenomenon and discuss possible explanations.

Sperm morphology of avian brood parasites: the Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus and Oriental Cuckoo C. optatus

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-131
Author(s):  
Geun-Won Bae ◽  
Sue-Jeong Jin ◽  
Jin-Won Lee ◽  
Jeong-Chil Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Sperm Morphology ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
The Common

scholarly journals Decoupled Acoustic and Visual Components in the Multimodal Signals of the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Esposito ◽  
Maria Ceraulo ◽  
Beniamino Tuliozi ◽  
Giuseppa Buscaino ◽  
Salvatore Mazzola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Po Plain ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Multimodal Signals ◽  
Reproduction Costs ◽  
The Common ◽  
A Site ◽  
Selection Mechanisms

Because of its parasitic habits, reproduction costs of the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) are mostly spent in pre-laying activities. Female costs are limited to searching host nests and laying eggs, whereas, males spend time in performing intense vocal displays, possibly with territorial purpose. This last aspect, together with a sexual plumage dimorphism, points to both intra- and inter-sexual selections operating within this species. One element triggering sexual selection is a differential fitness accrued by different phenotypes. Before analyzing possible sexual selection mechanisms operating in cuckoos, it is therefore necessary to verify whether there is a variability among male secondary characters by describing and quantifying them. Here we aimed to quantitatively characterize the main two potential candidates of sexual selection traits, i.e., calls and displays, shown by males at perches. During the 2019 breeding season, in a site within the Po Plain, we both audio and video recorded cuckoo males at five different perches. We analyzed acoustic variables as well as display sequences searching for potential correlations. We found a significant variation among calls that could be clustered into four vocal types. We also found that no visual displays were associated with vocal displays; cuckoo males were either vocal and motionless or soundless and active. We discuss our results under the perspective of the potential value of sexual selection in brood parasites and its role in its parasitic habit.

Cuckoo chicks evicting their nest mates: coincidental observations by Edward Jenner in England and Antoine Joseph Lottinger in France

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spencer G. Sealy ◽  
Mélanie F. Guigueno
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Cuculus Canorus ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Cuckoo Chick ◽  
The Common ◽  
Made In ◽  
Royal Society Of London

For centuries, naturalists were aware that soon after hatching the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) chick became the sole occupant of the fosterer's nest. Most naturalists thought the adult cuckoo returned to the nest and removed or ate the fosterer's eggs and young, or the cuckoo chick crowded its nest mates out of the nest. Edward Jenner published the first description of cuckoo chicks evicting eggs and young over the side of the nest. Jenner's observations, made in England in 1786 and 1787, were published by the Royal Society of London in 1788. Four years before Jenner's observations, in 1782, Antoine Joseph Lottinger recorded eviction behaviour in France and published his observations in Histoire du coucou d'Europe, in 1795. The importance of Lottinger's and Jenner's observations is considered together.

scholarly journals To Double-Brood or not? Individual Variation in the Reproductive Effort in Black-Throated Blue Warblers (Dendroica Caerulescens)

The Auk ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 902-914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura R. Nagy ◽  
Richard T. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Food Availability ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
Substantial Effect ◽  
Population Variation ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Dendroica Caerulescens ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
First Clutch ◽  
Breeding Attempt ◽  
Second Clutch

AbstractIndividuals within a population vary in important fitness components, such as reproductive success. In general, females can maximize the number of young they produce by altering either the number of young per breeding attempt or the number of breeding attempts per season. In short-lived species, and especially in small passerine birds, number of breeding attempts per season varies markedly among individuals. Here, we evaluated factors influencing whether female Blackthroated Blue Warblers (Dendroica caerulescens) initiated additional nests after a successful breeding attempt (i.e. double-brooded). The percentage of females that laid a second clutch after successfully fledging a first brood ranged from 0 to 87% and averaged 53% (n = 7 years). Multiple logistic regression and AICc model selection indicated that double-brooded females bred in territories with greater food availability and produced heavier nestlings than single-brooded females. Female age, male age, date of first breeding attempt, and number of young in the first clutch were not included in the best-fit model. Older females, however, produced heavier fledglings, and females mated to older males occurred on territories with greater food availability, indicating that age contributed to individual variation in reproductive output. Because the proportion of females that produce multiple broods within a season can have a substantial effect on the annual fecundity of a population, variation among females and among the territories they occupy (i.e. habitat quality) are key factors influencing population dynamics in this and other multibrooded, shortlived species.Poner Nidadas Dobles o No? Variación Individual en el Esfuerzo Reproductivo en Dendroica caerulescens

scholarly journals Host Recognition of Brood Parasites: Implications for Methodology in Studies of Enemy Recognition

The Auk ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 530-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomáš Grim
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Columba Livia ◽  
Host Recognition ◽  
Brood Parasite ◽  
Common Cuckoo ◽  
Brood Parasites ◽  
Accurate Picture ◽  
Rock Pigeon ◽  
The Common ◽  
Enemy Recognition

AbstractVarious studies have shown that experiments on nest defense and enemy recognition (e.g. recognition of adult brood parasites) can be confounded by many factors. However, no study has described a confounding effect of control dummy type. Here, I show experimentally that the choice of control dummy may influence the results of an experiment and lead to erroneous conclusions. I tested recognition abilities of the Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla), currently a host rarely used by the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). Blackcaps responded very differently to two kinds of control dummies: they ignored the Eurasian Blackbird (Turdus merula) dummy, but attacked the Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) dummy as frequently as they attacked the Common Cuckoo. The differing results may be explained by the fact that the Rock Pigeon is more similar to the Common Cuckoo than the Eurasian Blackbird is, and consequently elicited more aggressive behavior than the latter. Thus, absence of discrimination in enemy-recognition studies may reflect a methodological artifact resulting from varying abilities of particular hosts to discriminate along a continuum of recognition cues. This result has serious methodological implications for further research on enemy recognition and aggression in general: a control dummy should not be too similar to the dummy brood parasite; otherwise, the chance of detecting existing recognition abilities is low. Further, I argue that coevolution only increases pre-existing aggression in the particular host species. Therefore, increment analysis (assessing changes in host antiparasitic responses during the nesting cycle while controlling for background aggression to control dummies) provides a more accurate picture of hosts' recognition abilities than the traditional approach (when the total level of antiparasitic response is analyzed).

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