Are You My Mother?
- By Rachel VanCott
- Posted 04.01.09
- NOVA scienceNOW
Fish, insects, and particularly birds sometimes use devious tactics to trick other animals into feeding, protecting, and otherwise raising their young, a practice ecologists call "brood parasitism." In this slide show, take a look at some of the species that engage in the practice and the tactics they have evolved, from grisly competition to more subtle deception.
Credits
Images
- (robin and cowbird eggs)
- © Don Johnston/Getty
- (cowbird and wren nestlings)
- © Rolf Nussbaumer/imagebroker.net
- (honeyguide)
- © Nigel J. Dennis, Gallo Images/CORBIS
- (indigobird)
- © Stan Osolinski/Oxford Scientific
- (cliff swallows)
- © Claude Steelman/Oxford Scientific
- (wren and cuckoo)
- © Bildagentur/TIPS Italia
- (cichlid and catfish)
- © Mark Deeble & Victoria Stone/Oxford Scientific
- (cuckoo wasp)
- © Rafi Ben-Shahar/Oxford Scientific
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