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A host-race difference in begging calls of nestling cuckoos Cuculus canorus develops through experience and increases host provisioning.
- Source :
-
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences . Sep2006, Vol. 273 Issue 1599, p2343-2351. 9p. - Publication Year :
- 2006
-
Abstract
- The structure of common cuckoo nestling begging calls differs between the two host-races parasitizing reed warblers (reed warbler-cuckoos) and dunnocks (dunnock-cuckoos; longer syllable duration, lower peak and maximum frequency, narrower bandwidth). Cross-fostering experiments demonstrated that this difference is not genetically fixed but develops through experience. When newly hatched reed warbler-cuckoos were transferred to dunnock nests, they developed begging calls more like those of dunnock-cuckoos, whereas controls transferred to the nests of robins or left to be raised by reed warblers developed calls more typical of reed warbler-cuckoos. We tested the effectiveness of these different calls in stimulating host provisioning by placing in host nests a single blackbird or song thrush nestling (of similar size to a young cuckoo, but lacking its exuberant begging calls); when it begged we broadcast, from a small loudspeaker on the nest rim, recordings of either dunnock-cuckoo or reed warbler-cuckoo begging calls. Playback of dunnock-cuckoo begging calls induced higher levels of provisioning by dunnocks, whereas playback of reed warbler-cuckoo begging calls did so for both reed warblers and robins. We suggest that the young cuckoo (which ejects the host's eggs/chicks and so is raised alone) learns by experience which calls best stimulate host provisioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *ZOOLOGY
*BIOLOGY
*NATURAL history
*NATURE study
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 09628452
- Volume :
- 273
- Issue :
- 1599
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 22105455
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2006.3585