Reactions of Red-Backed Shrikes Lanius collurio to Artificial Cuckoo Cuculus canorus Eggs

AbstractThe red-backed shrike Lanius collurio once was parasitised by the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus in low frequency until the late 1960s in Hungary, but no case of parasitism is known from the last three or four decades. The cuckoo most probably abandoned this host species because its arms race had defeated, which may be indicated by the high level egg recognition and rejection ability of shrikes. However, mimicry of the cuckoo eggs in the last known cases of parasitism was significantly lower than between cuckoo eggs and host eggs collected from great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus nests within the same period. This suggests that red-backed shrikes won the arms race leaving no chance for cuckoos to develop better mimicry for their eggs. We tested these findings with experimentally induced parasitism using two types of real eggs: red-backed shrikes rejected 57.6% of the foreign conspecific eggs, but rejected 93.3% of the real cuckoo eggs transferred form nests of great reed warblers. This high level of rejection against real cuckoo eggs shows that there is no chance for presently occurring cuckoos to reparasitise red-backed shrikes in Hungary. Experimental eggs rejected by shrikes had lower mimicry than the eggs which were accepted, but intraclutch variation did not differ between accepters and rejecters. Hosts' aggression was significantly higher against the stuffed cuckoo than against the control species, the collared dove Streptopelia decaocto, and it was the least against female red-backed shrikes. Red-backed shrikes high aggression against cuckoo dummies also showed a highly developed antiparasite adaptation.

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Does experimentally simulated presence of a common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) affect egg rejection and breeding success in the red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio)?

acta ethologica ◽

10.1007/s10211-021-00362-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Piotr Tryjanowski ◽

Artur Golawski ◽

Mariusz Janowski ◽

Tim H. Sparks

Keyword(s):

Breeding Success ◽

Brood Parasitism ◽

Interaction Analysis ◽

Egg Rejection ◽

Cuculus Canorus ◽

Common Cuckoo ◽

Host Nest ◽

Lanius Collurio ◽

The Common ◽

Experimental Treatments

AbstractProviding artificial eggs is a commonly used technique to understand brood parasitism, mainly by the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). However, the presence of a cuckoo egg in the host nest would also require an earlier physical presence of the common cuckoo within the host territory. During our study of the red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio), we tested two experimental approaches: (1) providing an artificial “cuckoo” egg in shrike nests and (2) additionally placing a stuffed common cuckoo with a male call close to the shrike nest. We expected that the shrikes subject to the additional common cuckoo call stimuli would be more sensitive to brood parasitism and demonstrate a higher egg rejection rate. In the years 2017–2018, in two locations in Poland, a total of 130 red-backed shrike nests were divided into two categories: in 66 we added only an artificial egg, and in the remaining 64 we added not only the egg, but also presented a stuffed, calling common cuckoo. Shrikes reacted more strongly if the stuffed common cuckoo was present. However, only 13 incidences of egg acceptance were noted, with no significant differences between the locations, experimental treatments or their interaction. Analysis of breeding success revealed significant differences between the locations, between experimental treatments and their interaction, which suggests a strong location effect. The red-backed shrike is an efficient rejector of foreign eggs. It would be interesting to see how similar tests affect hosts that have much higher rates of brood parasitism and egg acceptance.

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

Archives of Natural History ◽

10.3366/anh.2011.0030 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 38 (2) ◽

pp. 220-228 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

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.

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