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Avian Research 2022, 13(3): 100042 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avrs.2022.100042
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 10 June 2022

Experimental evidence that cuckoos preferentially parasitize host nests early in their laying cycle

Show Author's Information Longwu Wanga,  Gangbin Hea,  Yuhan Zhangb,  Wei Liangb( ),  William E. Feeneyb,c,d( )
School of Life Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, 550001, China
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, 571158, China
Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, 82319, Germany
Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
Keywords:
Clutch size, Brood parasitism, Common Cuckoo, Oriental Reed Warbler, Egg laying
Cite this article:
Wang L, He G, Zhang Y, et al. Experimental evidence that cuckoos preferentially parasitize host nests early in their laying cycle. Avian Research, 2022, 13(3): 100042. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avrs.2022.100042
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Abstract Full text About this article

Brood parasites, such as the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), rely on manipulating hosts from other species to raise their offspring. Selection should favor individuals that are able to identify and choose host nests that closely match the incubation stage of their own eggs. While intuitive, and supported by the findings of numerous long-term monitoring studies, experimental evidence of this remains sparse. By using video monitoring, we used three experimental groups to explore whether Common Cuckoos preferentially choose host Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis) nests that are early in their laying cycle. We found that Common Cuckoos preferentially parasitize nests of the host Oriental Reed Warbler that are earlier in their laying (less vs. more eggs) or nesting cycle (eggs vs. chicks), and videos of our experiments provide direct insights into their decision making process. Our results provide strong experimental evidence that Common Cuckoos are able to assess nesting stage and strategically choose nests that increase the likelihood of successful parasitism.


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About this article

Experimental evidence that cuckoos preferentially parasitize host nests early in their laying cycle

Show Author's information Longwu Wanga, Gangbin Hea, Yuhan Zhangb, Wei Liangb( ), William E. Feeneyb,c,d( )
School of Life Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, 550001, China
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, Key Laboratory of Tropical Animal and Plant Ecology of Hainan Province, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, 571158, China
Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, 82319, Germany
Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, United Kingdom

Abstract

Brood parasites, such as the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), rely on manipulating hosts from other species to raise their offspring. Selection should favor individuals that are able to identify and choose host nests that closely match the incubation stage of their own eggs. While intuitive, and supported by the findings of numerous long-term monitoring studies, experimental evidence of this remains sparse. By using video monitoring, we used three experimental groups to explore whether Common Cuckoos preferentially choose host Oriental Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus orientalis) nests that are early in their laying cycle. We found that Common Cuckoos preferentially parasitize nests of the host Oriental Reed Warbler that are earlier in their laying (less vs. more eggs) or nesting cycle (eggs vs. chicks), and videos of our experiments provide direct insights into their decision making process. Our results provide strong experimental evidence that Common Cuckoos are able to assess nesting stage and strategically choose nests that increase the likelihood of successful parasitism.

Keywords: Clutch size, Brood parasitism, Common Cuckoo, Oriental Reed Warbler, Egg laying

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Publication history
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Publication history

Received: 21 January 2022
Revised: 01 June 2022
Accepted: 06 June 2022
Published: 10 June 2022
Issue date: September 2022

Copyright

© 2022 The Authors.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Wenfeng Wang and Jianhua Ma for their assistance with fieldwork. We also thank the Zhalong National Nature Reserve for their support and permission to carry out this study. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 31960105 to LW, and 31970427 to WL) and the specific research fund of the Innovation Platform for Academicians of Hainan Province. LW was funded by the Guizhou Natural Science Foundation (No. ZK[2022]-316).

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This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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