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Signals of need in parent–offspring communication and their exploitation by the common cuckoo

Nature volume 397, pages 667–672 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Nestling birds present vivid gapes and produce loud calls as they solicit food, but the complexity of the display is poorly understood. Here we explain the function of reed warbler begging signals and show how they are exploited by the common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus, a brood parasite. Reed warbler parents integrate visual and vocal signals from their young to adjust their provisioning rates, and the two signals convey more accurate information about offspring need than either does alone. The cuckoo chick has a particularly striking begging display which has been suggested to be irresistible to host parents. However, we show that the cuckoo, reared alone in the nest, presents a deficient visual display, and elicits the same amount of care as a reed warbler brood only by compensating with its exaggerated vocal display. Therefore the cuckoo succeeds not through mimicry of the host brood begging signals, but by tuning into the sensory predispositions of its hosts.

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Figure 1: Effect of food deprivation.
Figure 2: Effect of playback treatments.
Figure 3: Relationship between nestling mass and feeding rate.
Figure 4: Relationship between nestling mass and begging call rate or gape area.
Figure 5: Chick gapes.
Figure 6: Comparison of observed and predicted begging call rates.
Figure 7: Comparison of predicted and observed provisioning rates.

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Acknowledgements

We thank NERC for funding the research; the National Trust for allowing us to work at Wicken Fen; C. Thorne and the Wicken Fen Group for research facilities; M. de L. Brooke for assistance infinding nests; M. de L. Brooke, F. Hunter, R. Johnstone and N. Langmore for comments on the manuscript; and B. Grenfell for producing Fig. 7. The experiments were done under licence from English Nature. R.M.K. was funded by a Junior Research Fellowship at Magdalene College, Cambridge.

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  1. Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3EJ, Cambridge, UK

    R. M. Kilner, D. G. Noble & N. B. Davies

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  1. R. M. Kilner
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  2. D. G. Noble
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  3. N. B. Davies
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Correspondence to R. M. Kilner.

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Kilner, R., Noble, D. & Davies, N. Signals of need in parent–offspring communication and their exploitation by the common cuckoo. Nature 397, 667–672 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/17746

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