大杜鹃在白腹短翅鸲巢中寄生繁殖

2009年至2012年期间,在甘肃莲花山自然保护区共发现91个白腹短翅鸲(Hodgsonius phaenicuroides)巢,其中15巢被大杜鹃(Cuculus canorus)寄生,寄生率为16.48%。根据对13枚寄生的大杜鹃卵的观察,其中12枚卵色为浅蓝色,与白腹短翅鸲的深蓝绿色卵差异明显,仅1枚与白腹短翅鸲卵色一致。大杜鹃与白腹短翅鸲的卵重(t =11.208, df=38, P<0.001)和卵短径(t=0.970,df=38, P<0.001)差异极显著。白腹短翅鸲具有识别大杜鹃卵的能力,15巢中只有4巢接受寄生卵并继续孵化,7巢成功识别,剩余4巢无法确定是否识别。白腹短翅鸲为雌鸟单独孵卵,推测识别大杜鹃卵可能只与雌鸟有关。     

中杜鹃在3种宿主巢中寄生繁殖

了解杜鹃对其宿主的选择和寄生情况,能为两者间的协同进化研究提供重要的基础资料。2012和2013年每年的4～8月,在贵州宽阔水国家级自然保护区对不同生境类型中的鸟巢进行搜索监测,记录到4例中杜鹃(Cuculus saturatus)寄生繁殖现象,其宿主分别是暗绿绣眼鸟(Zosterops japonicus)、棕腹柳莺(Phylloscopus subaffinis)和黄喉鹀(Emberiza elegans),其中棕腹柳莺和暗绿绣眼鸟是首次记录到被中杜鹃寄生。中杜鹃卵重(2.39±0.14)g(n=3),体积(2.24±0.18)cm3(n=3),通过T检验方法发现中杜鹃卵极显著大于暗绿绣眼鸟和棕腹柳莺卵(P0.001),同时在形状上也与两者极不相似,中杜鹃卵呈明显的长椭圆形,与黄喉鹀的卵在大小上无显著差异(P=0.1)。反射光谱的分析结果发现,寄生于不同宿主巢的中杜鹃卵在背景色和斑点上都具有一定差异,这表明中杜鹃的卵可能存在基因族群的分化。     

红翅凤头鹃在画眉巢中寄生繁殖

通常杜鹃雏鸟孵出后都会将寄主巢中的卵和雏鸟推出巢外而独占寄主巢,以便能独享义亲抚育。而一些体型较大的杜鹃(如凤头鹃属Clamator)雏鸟能够容忍寄主的卵和雏,并不将其推出巢外,而与其共同成长。2005年5月29日,在贵州宽阔水自然保护区,观察到杜鹃雏鸟与寄主画眉(Garrulax can     

小杜鹃在强脚树莺巢中寄生繁殖

2006年6~7月作者在贵州省宽阔水自然保护区首次发现小杜鹃(Cuculus poliocephalus)在强脚树莺(Cettiafortipes)巢中寄生(封4图片),并对这一现象进行了连续观察,对小杜鹃的雏鸟生长进行了测量。报道如下:宽阔水自然保护区位于贵州省遵义市绥阳县北部(28°06′25″~28°19′25″N     

棕腹杜鹃在山蓝仙鹟巢中寄生繁殖

正棕腹杜鹃(Hierococcyx nisicolor)是鹃形目(Cuculiformes)杜鹃科(Cuculidae)的寄生性繁殖鸟类(郑光美2011,Dickinson et al.2013)。目前棕腹杜鹃已记录的宿主主要为鹟科(Muscicapidae)鸟类,例如北灰鹟(Muscicapa dauurica)、白腹蓝姬鹟(Cyanoptila cyanomelana)等(Payne 2005,Erritz?e et al.2012)。棕腹杜鹃在中国的宿主报道很少,仅粟通萍等(2016)报道了在广西大明山的棕腹杜鹃寄生于海南蓝仙鹟(Cyornis hainanus)一例。     

大杜鹃对家燕的巢寄生

了解杜鹃(Cuculus spp.)对不同宿主鸟类的巢寄生,是研究杜鹃与其宿主之间协同进化的重要基础资料。大杜鹃(Cuculus canorus)和家燕(Hirundo rustica)分布遍及全国,且为同域分布,但两者之间的寄生现象尚未有过系统调查。2012年和2014年4~8月,对繁殖于吉林市昌邑区桦皮厂镇(34°58′44.18″N,126°13′26.83″E,海拔184 m)和海南岛的家燕种群进行调查,结果表明,吉林市昌邑区桦皮厂镇家燕种群的寄生率为2.4%(1/42),而在海南岛所调查的1 719个家燕巢未发现杜鹃寄生现象。同时在网络上搜集家燕巢寄生的报道案例,共记录到13巢家燕被大杜鹃寄生繁殖,均发生在北方的家燕种群。     

八声杜鹃在两种缝叶莺巢中寄生繁殖

了解杜鹃对不同寄主的选择和利用,可为研究两者之间的协同进化提供重要基础资料。2012至2014年每年的3~6月,在广西弄岗地区共记录到3例八声杜鹃(Cacomantis merulinus)的寄生繁殖,其中,2例寄生于栗头缝叶莺(Orthotomus cuculatus)的巢(寄生率1.4%,n=142),其中2枚杜鹃卵均为白色具棕色斑点;1例寄生于黑喉缝叶莺(O.atrogularis)(寄生率10%,n=10),杜鹃卵为白色具棕色斑点。栗头缝叶莺为八声杜鹃寄主的首次报道,而两种缝叶莺均首次在中国记录到被八声杜鹃寄生。八声杜鹃的卵重为(1.45±0.09)g,卵体积为(1.46±0.07 cm3)(n=3),其卵大小和重量均显著大于栗头缝叶莺和黑喉缝叶莺的卵(t检验,P0.001)。     

大杜鹃的巢寄生

巢寄生（brood parasitism）：是某些鸟类将卵产在其他鸟的巢中,由其他鸟（义亲）代为孵化和育雏的一种特殊的繁殖行为。本图片为东方大苇莺在哺育大杜鹃雏鸟。     

荒漠伯劳的繁殖及雏鸟生长发育

2006～2007年对新疆石河子市荒漠伯劳(Lanius isabellinus phoenicuroides)的巢、卵及雏鸟的生长发育状况进行了研究.结果表明,荒漠伯劳窝卵数平均5.67枚,孵卵期17 d,育雏期15 d.育雏主要由雌鸟担任.采用Logistic方程对雏鸟发育过程中主要生长指标的生长方程进行了曲线拟合,相关指标生长方程的拟合度均在0.99以上.     

中国大杜鹃的鸣声

一直以来认为广布欧洲大陆和亚洲大陆的大杜鹃 ,其鸣声在地区之间无差异 ,而分布在亚洲的大杜鹃的鸣声至今未有系统的研究报道。本文以分布在中国北部的大杜鹃指名亚种和新疆亚种的广告鸣叫为主要研究对象 ,将其与在四川和云南省分布的大杜鹃华西亚种以及分布在朝鲜、日本、俄罗斯和英格兰的大杜鹃指名亚种的广告鸣叫进行了初步比较。在中国分布的大杜鹃有五种鸣叫类型。中国所有采集地大杜鹃的广告鸣叫都由两个音节组成 ,并且与英国分布种群的广告鸣叫很相似。各地大杜鹃的领域鸣唱呈现出个体质的高度保守性和数量性状的明显差异     

Egg phenotype differentiation in sympatric cuckoo Cuculus canorus gentes

The brood parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus consists of gentes, which typically parasitize only a single host species whose eggs they often mimic. Where multiple cuckoo gentes co‐exist in sympatry, we may expect variable but generally poorer mimicry because of host switches or inter‐gens gene flow via males if these also contribute to egg phenotypes. Here, we investigated egg trait differentiation and mimicry in three cuckoo gentes parasitizing great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus, marsh warblers Acrocephalus palustris and corn buntings Miliaria calandra breeding in close sympatry in partially overlapping habitat types. The three cuckoo gentes showed a remarkable degree of mimicry to their three host species in some but not all egg features, including egg size, a hitherto largely ignored feature of egg mimicry. Egg phenotype matching for both background and spot colours as well as for egg size has been maintained in close sympatry despite the possibility for gene flow.     

The common cuckoo Cuculus canorus is not locally adapted to its reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus host

The obligate avian brood parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus comprises different strains of females that specialize on particular host species by laying eggs of a constant type that often mimics those of the host. Whether cuckoos are locally adapted for mimicking populations of the hosts on which they are specialized has never been investigated. In this study, we first explored the possibility of local adaptation in cuckoo egg mimicry over a geographical mosaic of selection exerted by one of its main European hosts, the reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus. Secondly, we investigated whether cuckoos inhabiting reed warbler populations with a broad number of alternative suitable hosts at hand were less locally adapted. Cuckoo eggs showed different degrees of mimicry to different reed warbler populations. However, cuckoo eggs did not match the egg phenotypes of their local host population better than eggs of other host populations, indicating that cuckoos were not locally adapted for mimicry on reed warblers. Interestingly, cuckoos exploiting reed warblers in populations with a relatively larger number of co-occurring cuckoo gentes showed lower than average levels of local adaptation in egg volume. Our results suggest that cuckoo local adaptation might be prevented when different cuckoo populations exploit more or fewer different host species, with gene flow or frequent host switches breaking down local adaptation where many host races co-occur.     

Egg colour mimicry in the common cuckoo Cuculus canorus as revealed by modelling host retinal function

Some parasite cuckoo species lay eggs that, to the human eye, appear to mimic the appearance of the eggs of their favourite hosts, which hinders discrimination and removal of their eggs by host species. Hitherto, perception of cuckoo-host egg mimicry has been estimated based on human vision or spectrophotometry, which does not account for what the receivers' eye (i.e. hosts) actually discriminates. Using a discrimination model approach that reproduces host retinal functioning, and museum egg collections collected in the south of Finland, where at least six different races of the European cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) coexist, I first assess whether the colour design of cuckoo eggs of different races maximizes matching for two favourite avian hosts, viz. the redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus) and the pied wagtail (Motacilla alba). Second, I assess the role of nest luminosity on host perception of mimicry by the same two hosts. Phoenicurus-cuckoo eggs showed a better chromatic matching with the redstart-host eggs than other cuckoo races, and in most cases can not be discriminated. Sylvia-cuckoo eggs, however, showed better achromatic matching with redstart-host eggs than Phoenicurus-cuckoo eggs. Also, Motacilla-cuckoo eggs showed poorer chromatic and achromatic matching with pied wagtail-host eggs than Sylvia-cuckoo eggs. Nest luminosity affected chromatic and achromatic differences between cuckoo and host eggs, although only minimally affected the proportion of cuckoo eggs discriminated by chromatic signals. These results reveal that cuckoo races as assessed by humans do not entirely match with host perception of matching and that achromatic mechanisms could play a main role in the discrimination of cuckoo eggs at low-light levels.     

大杜鹃对北红尾鸲的放牧行为

在宿主的寄生防御压力下,鸟类巢寄生者通常会进化出一系列有效的寄生行为以提高其自身的繁殖适合度。以往研究发现,部分巢寄生者可能具有类似人类的\"放牧\"行为,即通过破坏或捕食不适合寄生的宿主巢,促使其重新筑巢以获取新的寄生机会。然而,对于其野外行为事件的报道并不多见。2018年5至8月,在贵州六枝地区,通过对宿主北红尾鸲(Phoenicurusauroreus)的巢进行录像监控,首次记录到大杜鹃(Cuculus canorus)对正在孵卵的北红尾鸲的放牧行为。进一步查阅了大杜鹃寄生系统中已有的放牧案例,说明放牧行为很可能是大杜鹃普遍采用的一种寄生策略。     

The spatial habitat structure of host populations explains the pattern of rejection behavior in hosts and parasitic adaptations in cuckoos

In this article we present tentative support for predictionsderived from a spatial habitat structure hypothesis arguingthat common cuckoos Cuculus canorus, the most common obligatebrood parasite in Europe, only breed in areas where they haveaccess to vantage points in trees. Thus, species in which somepopulations breed near trees while other populations breed fartherfrom trees have a different cuckoo—host population dynamicthan species in which all populations always breed in the vicinityof trees. Parasitism rate, mimicry of brood parasite eggs withthose of the hosts, and rejection behavior of hosts varieswith the host breeding habitat. Cuckoos are best adapted toexploit species in which some populations breed near trees whileother populations breed in open areas because such hosts arenot always accessible to cuckoos, and thus gene flow amongunparasitized and parasitized populations delays the evolutionof host adaptations. Adaptive behavior in cuckoos as well asin their hosts can be predicted from the spatial habitat structurehypothesis.     

小杜鹃对强脚树莺的巢寄生及其卵色模拟

于1999-2009年的鸟类繁殖季(4-8月)对贵州宽阔水自然保护区内的强脚树莺(Cettia fortipes)的繁殖进行监测,并采用光纤光谱仪,通过主成分分析、反射光谱、罗宾逊投射等方法对强脚树莺的卵色与小杜鹃(Cuculus poliocephalus)对其寄生的卵色模拟程度进行分析。研究结果表明,强脚树莺的繁殖成效在不同年份间均无显著差异,但其巢被捕食率和巢被寄生率都较高,分别为49.26%和9.18%。通过反射光谱分析,表明小杜鹃卵在色调和色度上高度模拟强脚树莺的卵,但其亮度高于宿主卵,而且在人眼无法探测的紫外光部分存在差异。