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Kavanau (1987) was the first to find that unique bi-parental care seen in modern birds probably evolved from extinct birds. They developed the ability to provide protection, escorting, nurturing and egg guarding abilities for their young. Evolution of homeothermy and flight most likely occurred in bi-parental birds with precocial chicks.
In birds, this parental care system is generally attributed to the ability of male birds to engage in most parental behaviours, with the exception of egg-laying. Due to their endothermy and small size at birth, there is a huge pressure for infant birds to grow up quickly to prevent energy loss.
In contrast to the large clutch sizes found in many bird species with biparental care, bats typically produce single offspring, which may be a limitation related to lack of male help. It has been suggested, though not without controversy, that paternal care is the ancestral form of parental care in birds. [9]
Dusky woodswallow (Artamus cyanopterus) parent feeding a wasp to chicks. Allofeeding is a type of food sharing behaviour observed in cooperatively breeding species of birds. Allofeeding refers to a parent, sibling or unrelated adult bird feeding altricial hatchlings, which are dependent on parental care for their survival. [1]
Vertebrate maternal behavior is a form of parental care that is specifically given to young animals by their mother in order to ensure the survival of the young. [1] Parental care is a form of altruism, which means that the behaviors involved often require a sacrifice that could put their own survival at risk. [1]
Once the eggs have hatched, the mother will either abandon her young, care for her young alone or join a multi-female crèche. [1] In the common eider species, if the crèche group behaviour is followed, the formation of the crèche will occur as soon as the juveniles leave the nest, and the group behaviour will last for a long period as the ...
The great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) is one of the few bird species that is polygynous and has a harem. Males provide resources to their harem, such as nest protection and varying levels of parental care. Females in the harem are able to breed at the same time, indicating that harem size and the number of male offspring are ...
Among most groups of animals, male parental care is rare. In birds, however, it is quite common—more so than in any other vertebrate class. [77] Although territory and nest site defence, incubation, and chick feeding are often shared tasks, there is sometimes a division of labour in which one mate undertakes all or most of a particular duty ...