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Science 29 April 2005:
Vol. 308. no. 5722, p. 653
DOI: 10.1126/science.1109957
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Brevia

Horsfield's Hawk-Cuckoo Nestlings Simulate Multiple Gapes for Begging

Keita D. Tanaka* and Keisuke Ueda

Nestlings of some brood parasitic birds evict hosts' eggs and young soon after hatching, thereby avoiding discrimination by hosts while monopolizing parental care. Eviction carries a cost, however, because lone parasitic nestlings attract a reduced provisioning rate. Here we describe a form of visual signaling used by the evicting Horsfield's hawk-cuckoo (Cuculus fugax) to obtain sufficient food. The chick displays a gape-colored patch on the wing to the host parents as they deliver food, simulating the gaping display of more than one nestling.

Department of Life Sciences, Rikkyo University, 3-34-1 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima, 171-8501 Tokyo, Japan.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: keita{at}zaf.att.ne.jp

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