The exaggerated begging behaviour of an obligate avian brood parasite is shared with a nonparasitic close relative

Rivers, James W.; Blundell, Melissa A.; Loughin, Thomas M.; Peer, Brian D.; Rothstein, Stephen I.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.06.004

Cited by 15 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…It is also possible that the sex difference in hippocampal volume found in brown‐headed cowbirds is, like many other traits, shared with red‐winged blackbirds and perhaps other icterids. Despite some clear differences in behavior due to brood parasitism, red‐winged blackbirds and brown‐headed cowbird nestlings both show exaggerated begging behavior (Rivers et al ). Female brown‐headed cowbirds and red‐winged blackbirds also show greater auditory sensitivity compared to males, a sex difference that, according to Gall et al (), is not generally found in passerines.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex and seasonal differences in hippocampal volume and neurogenesis in brood‐parasitic brown‐headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater)

Guigueno

MacDougall‐Shackleton

Sherry

2016

Developmental Neurobiology

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Brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) are one of few species in which females show more complex space use than males. Female cowbirds search for, revisit, and parasitize host nests and, in a previous study, outperformed males on an open field spatial search task. Previous research reported a female-biased sex difference in the volume of the hippocampus, a region of the brain involved in spatial memory. Neurons produced by adult neurogenesis may be involved in the formation of new memories and replace older neurons that could cause interference in memory. We tested for sex and seasonal differences in hippocampal volume and neurogenesis of brood-parasitic brown-headed cowbirds and the closely related non-brood-parasitic red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) to determine whether there were differences in the hippocampus that reflected space use in the wild. Females had a larger hippocampus than males in both species, but hippocampal neurogenesis, measured by doublecortin immunoreactivity (DCX+), was greater in female than in male cowbirds in the absence of any sex difference in blackbirds, supporting the hypothesis of hippocampal specialization in female cowbirds. Cowbirds of both sexes had a larger hippocampus with greater hippocampal DCX+ than blackbirds. Hippocampus volume remained stable between breeding conditions, but DCX+ was greater post-breeding, indicating that old memories may be lost through hippocampal reorganization following breeding. Our results support, in part, the hypothesis that the hippocampus of cowbirds is specialized for brood parasitism. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 76: 1275-1290, 2016.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex and seasonal differences in hippocampal volume and neurogenesis in brood‐parasitic brown‐headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater)

Guigueno

MacDougall‐Shackleton

Sherry

2016

Developmental Neurobiology

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“…Furthermore, it remains an open question whether begging exaggeration in parasitic chicks itself has evolved as an adaptation to parasitism. Two experimental studies have failed to find differences in the begging intensity and the effectiveness to stimulate parental feedings between brownheaded cowbird chicks and those of a related non-parasitic blackbird (Rivers et al, 2013;Li and Hauber, 2021). The lack of comparative studies represents a major gap in the study of begging evolution in brood parasites.…”

Section: Tuning Mechanisms To Exploit Host Parental Behavior Through Begging Displays Begging Exaggerationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tricking Parents: A Review of Mechanisms and Signals of Host Manipulation by Brood-Parasitic Young

et al. 2021

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Obligate avian brood parasites depend entirely on heterospecific hosts for rearing their offspring. From hatching until independence, the young parasites must deal with the challenge of obtaining sufficient parental care from foster parents that are attuned to provisioning their own offspring. Parent-offspring communication is mediated by complex begging displays in which nestlings and fledglings exhibit visual (e.g., gaping and postures) and vocal (e.g., begging calls) traits that serve as signals to parents to adjust and allocate parental effort. Parasites can manipulate host parental behavior by exploiting these stable parent-offspring communication systems in their favor. During the past 30 years, the study of host exploitation by parasitic chicks has yielded important insights into the function and evolution of manipulative signals in brood parasites. However, despite these major advances, there are still important gaps in our knowledge about how parasitic nestling and fledglings tune into the host’s communication channels and the adaptive value of the visual and acoustic signals they exhibit. Here we review the literature pertaining to host manipulation by parasitic young, focusing on four non-mutually exclusive mechanisms (i.e., host chick mimicry, begging exaggeration, host-attuned begging calls, and sensory exploitation) and the function and evolution of the signals involved, with the aim to summarize and discuss putative adaptations for stimulating parental feeding and escaping host discrimination. Finally, we bring some concluding remarks and suggest directions for future research on the ways in which brood parasites adapt to the communication systems of other birds to exploit the necessary parental care.

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Begging Behaviour, Food Delivery and Food Acquisition in Nests with Brood Parasitic Nestlings

Soler

2017

Fascinating Life Sciences

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The exaggerated begging behaviour of an obligate avian brood parasite is shared with a nonparasitic close relative

Cited by 15 publications

References 55 publications

Sex and seasonal differences in hippocampal volume and neurogenesis in brood‐parasitic brown‐headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater)

Sex and seasonal differences in hippocampal volume and neurogenesis in brood‐parasitic brown‐headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater)

Tricking Parents: A Review of Mechanisms and Signals of Host Manipulation by Brood-Parasitic Young

Begging Behaviour, Food Delivery and Food Acquisition in Nests with Brood Parasitic Nestlings

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