Question

What is brood parasitism? Explain with the help of an example.

Answer 1

Introduction to brood parasitism:

It is a type of parasitism in which the parasitic bird lays its eggs in the nest of another bird (host) and lets the host incubate them. The eggs of the parasitic bird have evolved such that they are similar in size and colour to the host’s egg. This reduces the chances of detection and ejection of the foreign eggs by the host bird.

Example of brood parasitism:

Cuckoo laying eggs in the crow’s nest is an example of brood parasitism. Cuckoo’s (koel) eggs have evolved in such a way that they resemble crow’s eggs in colour and size. Cuckoo (parasite bird) takes the advantage of evolution and lays its egg in the crow’s (host) nest.

Due to the resemblance of both the bird’s eggs, the crow does not detect foeign eggs and hence incubates them until they hatch.