Researchers have found in redstarts an unusual tendency to settle closer to people or even in human houses if cuckoos are seen nearby. It is reported by Gismeteo.
It is known that cuckoos tend to throw eggs into other people’s nests, thus shifting the care of offspring to other birds. This is the so-called brood parasitism.
Passerines are among the frequent victims of cuckoos, and among them the redstart. She lays eggs twice a season, before and after the arrival of cuckoos in the northeastern regions of China. Apparently, the redstarts realized that the cuckoo avoids close contact with humans, and decided to take advantage of this. They began to move nests closer to human settlements during the second oviposition. Similar behavior was induced artificially when the researchers played audio recordings of cuckoo calls.
Thus, it has been experimentally established that the Siberian redstart adjusts its nesting habits if there are “exploiters” of its nest in the given area.
Source: Rosbalt
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
