Parenting can be lots of work for a bird: all that flying back and forth transporting grubs and insects to a nest of demanding young. But some birds manage to forgo caring for their chicks — while ...

One of the most interesting topics discussed in my Ornithology class was about the “con artists” found in nature… Brood parasitism occurs when a female bird (the parasite) lays her eggs in the nest of ...

Egg-dumping refers to the behavior of a female who puts her eggs in another animal’s nest, leaving all other parental behavior to the host. Some animals are what you might call professional ...

Cowbird mothers abandon their eggs in the nests of other bird species, but the chicks somehow manage to find their flock and learn what they really are. By Elizabeth Preston In P.D. Eastman’s classic ...

Several animal species display brood care, a phenomenon where ‘caring’ parents provide their offspring with food and protection against predators. However, there are many others that prefer not to do ...

Avian brood parasitism is a fascinating reproductive strategy wherein parasitic birds, such as the common cuckoo, lay their eggs in the nests of other avian species. This deceptive tactic forces ...

While most birds carefully nurture and protect their young, some species have evolved a more unconventional approach. Known as "brood parasites," these birds lay their eggs in the nests of other ...

An adult coot can recognize its own chicks and will attack a parasitic chick that hatches in its nest. Photo by B. Lyon. The American coot is a drab, seemingly unremarkable marsh bird common ...

Brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) deposit their eggs into the nests of other birds, which then raise the cowbird chick. Female cowbirds thus have limited options for impacting their offspring’s ...

Brood parasitic birds lay their eggs in the nests of others, sparing themselves the expense of rearing their own young. The resulting coevolutionary arms race includes sophisticated defenses by hosts ...