ChatterBank0 min ago
birds nest
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which bird lays its eggs in the nests of other birds?.
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There are lots of birds that lay their eggs in the nest of other species (parasitic). Beside the cuckoo, there is the cowbird, Whydah bird and Honeyguides amongst others. There is even a south american duck that parasitises other duck species. Some of the colonial breeding swallows are also parasitic but they use nests of the same species and at least once per season raise their own - including some other's who laid in their nest.
Here's a strange example!
Colin Wright of the Shropshire Ornithological Society reported that, 'early season', a pair of robins had used a nestbox designed for blackbirds. No sooner had the robins nested than the blackbirds came along and evicted them, taking over the nest and laying their own eggs.When the chicks hatched though, they were a mixture of different species, some robins' eggs having stayed put. Whilst the blackbird parents ignored them, the robins had astonishingly hung around and managed to successfully rear their young with feeding sorties when the nest was unguarded. [Reported in The Countryman for December 2008 ]
Colin Wright of the Shropshire Ornithological Society reported that, 'early season', a pair of robins had used a nestbox designed for blackbirds. No sooner had the robins nested than the blackbirds came along and evicted them, taking over the nest and laying their own eggs.When the chicks hatched though, they were a mixture of different species, some robins' eggs having stayed put. Whilst the blackbird parents ignored them, the robins had astonishingly hung around and managed to successfully rear their young with feeding sorties when the nest was unguarded. [Reported in The Countryman for December 2008 ]
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