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Cues used by shiny cowbirds (Molothrus bonariensis) to locate and parasitise chalk-browed mockingbird (Mimus saturninus) nests

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Abstract

Unlike other birds, shiny cowbirds (Molothrus bonariensis) must locate host nests where to lay their eggs and then decide whether to parasitise them. They should also synchronise their laying with that of the host to increase the survival of parasite egg and young. Shiny cowbirds can discover nests using host behaviour as a cue, or by searching the habitat without need for the presence of a host. Besides, they can synchronise parasitism with host laying by monitoring nests during building and laying, or directly by assessing the degree of development of embryos through the puncture of host eggs. Alternatively, synchronization can arise by lower nest attentiveness during host laying. We determined the extent of synchronization between laying of shiny cowbirds and chalk-browed mockingbirds (Mimus saturninus) and estimated if parasitism was negatively associated with host nest attentiveness. We also conducted an experiment to test if host activity was necessary to locate nests, and if puncture of host eggs was a cue for deciding parasitism. Shiny cowbirds synchronised parasitism with host laying in 75% of the cases and synchronization was not explained by lower host nest attentiveness during laying. Shiny cowbirds located nests without need for presence of a host, but the decision of parasitising the nest depended on host activity at the nest. The information that shiny cowbirds could obtain through egg punctures was not necessary for deciding parasitism. Our results indicate that shiny cowbirds rely on the precise timing of their eggs and avoid laying in unsuitable nests.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Viviana Massoni, Gustavo Fernández and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on a previous version of this manuscript. VDF was supported by a fellowship from the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). JCR is a research fellow of CONICET. This work was supported by Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (grant 01-09237), University of Buenos Aires (grant X158), and Neotropical Grassland Conservancy. The experiments performed in this work comply with the current laws of Argentina.

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  1. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón II Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Vanina D. Fiorini & Juan C. Reboreda

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  1. Vanina D. Fiorini
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  2. Juan C. Reboreda
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Correspondence to Juan C. Reboreda.

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Communicated by M. Soler

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Fiorini, V.D., Reboreda, J.C. Cues used by shiny cowbirds (Molothrus bonariensis) to locate and parasitise chalk-browed mockingbird (Mimus saturninus) nests. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 60, 379–385 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-006-0175-3

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