Brood Parasites Are Devious Birds

Summary Brood parasitism is a strange and fascinating behavior that we see (in one form or another) in several hundred bird species. This is where a female lays an egg in the nest of another bird. The parasite female flies away and never sees her offspring. The host bird or birds are fooled into raising the foreign chick as their own. Learn about which types of birds use this breeding strategy, including cuckoos and cowbirds. We’ll discuss the various tactics used by both the parasites and t...