Hi All
I have a few Channel-bills that have parasitised Currawong nests near my home
on the lower north shore of Sydney. Numbers seemed to have increased over the
years and they are even now along the Central Coast of NSW in places not
previously seen.
This week I can hear adults interacting vocally with fledglings, although I’m
never in the right place at the right time to see the interaction. My question
is: if a baby bird is known to imprint on its parents, the cuckoo should
imprint on the Currawong when it is born, how does this imprint change for
fledgling cuckoos so they later identify with adult cuckoos? What are the adult
cuckoos doing when they come to visit the fledgling? And finally, why don’t
Currawongs identify the cuckoo as an imposter?
Do birds identify with others of their species? The ones in my neighbourhood
always tend to stick together, so what is it that allows this switching of
identity to happen?
Cheers
Chris
Christine Melrose
<HR>
<BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
<BR>
<BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
<BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
</HR>
|
