Parasitic Egg Laying in the Redhead (Aythya americana) and Other North American Anatidae

Abstract

TABLE 1. Reports of parasitic egg laying among No1•th American waterfowl. The area of observation and the authority follow each host. A. Species parasitized by the Redhead Coot (Fulica americana) American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) Pintail (Anas acuta

A new breeding tactic of the Common Moorhen: interspecific brood parasitism of bittern nests

“…In waterfowl interspecific brood parasitism is also common. Many duck species lay their eggs in other birds' nests in North America (Weller 1959(Weller , 1968. The Black-headed Duck Heteronetta atricapilla of South America is a famous specialist nest parasite, never caring for its own eggs or chicks and instead parasitizing another duck, the Rosy-billed Pochard Netta peposaca, two species of coots Fulica spp, and several other hosts, including gulls Larus spp.…”

“…(Weller 1968). Interspecific brood parasitism occurs occasionally in other duck species in North America (Weller 1959). The Redhead Aythya americana for example typically constructs its own nest; however, sometimes it lays eggs in the nests of northern Pintail Anas acuta, Mallard A. platyrhynchos, Cinnamon Teal A. cyanoptera, Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis, Canvasback Aythya valisineria and occasionally even in the nests of American Coot and American Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus.…”

“…Furthermore, rails Rallus spp. and even the Common Pheasant Phasianus colchicus had been reported as occasionally being parasitized by certain ducks (Weller 1959). However, there has been no report of interspecific brood parasitism by members of the Rallidae (rails, coots, and moorhens).…”

“…Intraspecific brood parasitism is common in some species of water birds, e.g. ducks (Weller 1959), the Common Moorhen Gallinula c. chloropus (Gibbons 1986;McRae 1995;McRae & Burke 1996) and the American Coot Fulica americana (Lyon 1993a, b). Among water birds, the moorhen is a well-studied species in which intraspecific brood parasitism occurs; at least 10% of nests received parasitic eggs in England for example (McRae 1995), and intraspecific brood parasitism has also been reported from Japan .…”

The Determination of Clutch-Size in Birds a Review

“…Some authors report that parasitic egg laying or dump nesting-occurring when two females of the same or of different species deposit their eggs in the same nest-suppressed the number of eggs laid by the host, when the parasite's eggs are added during the host's laying period. T'his has been observed in the Partridge (BLANK & ASH 1960) and in some species of ducks (BENNETT 1938;WELLER 1959;HILDEN 1964). The effect is only small, and it will be evident that the addition of eggs needs more study.…”