Does host-absent vocalisation of common cuckoo chicks increase hosts' food provisioning behaviour?

Parent-absent vocalisation is produced by nestlings of several bird families when the parents are away from the nest. An analogous behaviour, host-absent vocalisation, has been found in some species of avian brood parasites and there are several explanations why this behaviour could have evolved. Us...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2018-07, Vol.72 (7), p.1-8, Article 121
Main Authors: Honza, Marcel, Požgayová, Milica, Petrželková, Adéla, Procházka, Petr
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acrocephalus arundinaceus
Animal behavior
Animal communication
Animal Ecology
Behavioral Sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Birds
Chickens
Chicks
Cuculus canorus
Feeding
Feeding rates
Food
Hunger
Juveniles
Life Sciences
Nest provisioning
Nests
Original Article
Parasites
Parents
Playback
Prey
Provisioning
Vocalization behavior
Zoology
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Summary:Parent-absent vocalisation is produced by nestlings of several bird families when the parents are away from the nest. An analogous behaviour, host-absent vocalisation, has been found in some species of avian brood parasites and there are several explanations why this behaviour could have evolved. Using playback experiments, we examined whether polygynous great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) adjust their food provisioning behaviour in response to host-absent begging vocalisation uttered by the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) chicks. We found that both on monogamous and polygynous nests, host pair members responded to the broadcasted parasite begging signals by increasing their feeding rates; yet, they did not deliver larger volumes of food as a consequence of somewhat smaller prey brought per visit. Nevertheless, we propose that host-absent vocalisation of the common cuckoo chick may still represent a signal of hunger that may compensate for other, deficient components of parasite begging display. However, the efficiency of this signal may be limited by the foster parents' provisioning abilities and local prey availability.
ISSN:0340-5443
1432-0762
DOI:10.1007/s00265-018-2532-4