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Among passerine birds, masked shrikes have been recorded stealing food from wheatears, [25] and Eurasian blackbirds have been recorded stealing smashed snails from other thrushes. [22] During seabird nesting seasons, frigatebirds soar above seabird colonies, waiting for parent birds to return to their nests with food for their young
Interspecific brood parasitism evolved twice independently in the order Passeriformes, in the cowbirds (genus Molothrus) and in the family Viduidae. [1] Instead of making nests of their own, and feeding their young, brood parasites deposit their eggs in the nests of other birds.
[122] [123] [124] House sparrows have been observed stealing prey from other birds, including American robins. [5] The gut microbiota of house sparrows differs between chicks and adults, with Pseudomonadota (formerly Proteobacteria) decreasing in chicks when they get to around 9 days old, whilst the relative abundance of Bacillota increase. [125]
In other species, hosts do not defend against parasites, and the parasitic mimicry is poor. [12] Kirbyan mimicry, in which a brood parasite mimics its host. Intraspecific brood parasitism among coots significantly increases the reproductive fitness of the parasite, but only about half of the eggs laid parasitically in other coot nests survive.
Additionally, the blue jay may raid other birds' nests, stealing eggs, chicks, and nests. However, this may not be as common as is typically thought, as only 1% of food matter in one study was bird material. [25] Despite this, other passerines may still mob jays who come within their breeding territories. Blue jay in flight
A common species nest that the cuckoo will choose to place its eggs in is the reed warbler. [7] The common cuckoo distinguishes the warbler's nest and will choose what specific nest to brood in depending on the foliage and distance from the nest. [7] The common cuckoo demonstrates the egg tossing behavior when they are just hatchlings. [14]
The birds in this genus are infamous for laying their eggs in other birds' nests. The female cowbird notes when a potential host bird lays its eggs, and when the nest is left momentarily unattended, the cowbird lays its own egg in it. The female cowbird may continue to observe this nest after laying eggs.
It is a much larger bird than its hosts, and needs to monopolize the food supplied by the parents. The chick will roll the other eggs out of the nest by pushing them with its back over the edge. If the host's eggs hatch before the cuckoo's, the cuckoo chick will push the other chicks out of the nest in a similar way.