Originally published at: Watch: Newly-hatched cuckoo murders unhatched rivals | Boing Boing
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The cardinals in my neighborhood regularly run afoul (pun!) of cowbirds, the local brood parasites.
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I remember hearing a theory that the near extinction of the North American Bison mean that the cowbirds who followed the herds spread out into other locales, decimating the native songbirds in those areas.
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Augh, this just reminded me of Vivarium. I like the movie, but it messed me up for several days…
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I had a bird nest appear on my porch, I put a security camera on it, I loved the weeks long learning experience and then it turned into a 48 hour horror show.
“Survival of the fittest” is an understatement.
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There are birds with associated cuckoos who are in an arms race – the birds are very careful about their eggs, and the cuckoo eggs look very much like the birds’. The cuckoo egg gestates faster and hatches sooner, for better murdering. The hapless parents then raise the cuckoo who eventually flies away to repeat the cycle.
How does the cuckoo then know what birds to play its trick upon, what other birds will have eggs that match the cuckoo’s?
It looks for new birds that look like Mommy and Daddy.
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Or go with this one:
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Also…
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