Note: This will probably be my last post for a few days because of the holidays. I’m really busy at the moment and cannot make it to a computer most of the time. I hope you have a good Christmas tomorrow!
Obviously birds want their offspring to survive. They aren’t going to favor sick or small offspring instead of healthy ones. Parasites do pose a threat to young birds. If the parent birds can detect parasites in their young, they may cut those young out. This will save their energy and food resources for the unaffected young and for future breeding possibilities.
A recent study shows that parents will even cut their losses before the eggs even hatch.
The study focused on spotless starling nests. These nests are often infested with bloodsucking flies. The feces from the flies will stain the eggs. The more brown spot staining, the greater the chance for the babies to be infected with the flies.
The study of the starlings showed that human-cleaned eggs received more care from the males, but not females. The other eggs that were not cleaned received less care overall from both parents. It is thought that the males gave more attention than the females to the cleaned because they can have more broods during the breeding season, whereas females do not. The females want to have the best, most promising young because they do not breed as often.
This really makes sense because parents want to have the best for their young.
Picture credit to Armando Caldas on Flickr.
