Large Hawk‐Cuckoo Hierococcyx sparverioides parasitism on the Chinese Babax Babax lanceolatus may be an evolutionarily recent host–parasite system |
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| Authors: | CANCHAO YANG ANTON ANTONOV YAN CAI BÅRD G. STOKKE ARNE MOKSNES EIVIN RØSKAFT WEI LIANG |
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| Affiliation: | 1. College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou 571158, China;2. State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat‐sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China;3. Centre for Advanced Study, CAS, NO‐0271 Oslo, Norway;4. Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), NO‐7491 Trondheim, Norway |
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| Abstract: | We documented brood parasitism by the poorly studied Large Hawk‐Cuckoo on a previously unknown host species, the Chinese Babax. Furthermore, we describe a new egg colour for the Large Hawk‐Cuckoo. The parasitism rate of Chinese Babax nests over 4 years was 6.9% (11 of 159 nests), with significant temporal variation. The Large Hawk‐Cuckoo laid immaculate white eggs that appeared non‐mimetic to the blue Babax eggs, an impression that was confirmed by avian visual modelling. Nevertheless, most Cuckoo eggs were accepted by the host, suggesting that this host–parasite system may be evolutionarily recent. |
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| Keywords: | avian visual modelling breeding success brood parasitism cuckoo chick egg mimicry egg recognition |
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