tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094038346173044955.post6451492556898936341..comments2024-03-27T19:39:11.723-04:00Comments on Parasite of the Day: January 14 - Cuculus canorusSusan Perkinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05944116263349266952noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094038346173044955.post-35097239758518756702011-08-23T02:25:23.155-04:002011-08-23T02:25:23.155-04:00That's one of the oddest aspect of the cuckoo-...That's one of the oddest aspect of the cuckoo-host coevolutionary arms race - many birds which are cuckoo hosts have evolved to be extremely good at distinguishing colours and patterns of eggs to exclude those laid by brood parasites.<br /><br />http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01262.x/abstract<br /><br />Yet at the same time, they seem to overlook very obvious cues like shape and size of the eggs. Same with the chicks they are feeding. It is possible that the bright red mouth gape of the cuckoo chick presents what's know as a "supernormal stimulus" which hijack the normal nurturing behaviour of the host bird.<br /><br />http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/06/10/beheco.arr084.shortTommy Leunghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06421993204602775597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6094038346173044955.post-25318972682235541192011-08-22T21:53:56.509-04:002011-08-22T21:53:56.509-04:00The big mooch...That looks so ridiculous.The big mooch...That looks so ridiculous.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com