Nestling polymorphism in a cuckoo-host system

• Published in: Current biology Vol. 25; no. 24; pp. R1164 - R1165
• Main Authors: Sato, Nozomu J., Tanaka, Keita D., Okahisa, Yuji, Yamamichi, Masato, Kuehn, Ralph, Gula, Roman, Ueda, Keisuke, Theuerkauf, Jörn
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 21.12.2015
• Subjects: Adaptation, Biological; Animals; Birds - genetics; Nesting Behavior; Polymorphism, Genetic; Skin Pigmentation - genetics

Virulence of avian brood parasites can trigger a coevolutionary arms race, which favours rejection of parasitic eggs or chicks by host parents, and in turn leads to mimicry in parasite eggs or chicks [1–7]. The appearance of host offspring is critical to enable host parents to detect parasites. Thus...