Earlier this year I came across an immature CB Cuckoo sitting on a power line in association with its hosts. The thing was that there was quite a space between the CBC and the half dozen crows on the line. I got the impression that the crows were uneasy with the CBC in their midst.
That got me to thinking. Clearly cuckoo hosts can be fooled into raising cuckoo chicks – presumably because they are similar enough to their own young when they hatch. As the chicks grow, they become less like their hosts. The question is how do the non loco parentis members of the host species relate to the interlopers in their midst?
Regards, Laurie
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