Hi Birds in Backyards,
I am a member of Birds in Oz fb group, and lately someone has been posting some interesting pictures showing three seperate host species (black headed honeyeater, yellow throated honeyeater and Flame Robin) feeding the same Pallid Cuckoo chick. The Pallid Cuckoo is not small- twice the size of the honeyeaters.
I wasn't aware that our cuckoos could inprint on more than one host species. And after having a look around I cannot find any literature on this phenomenon.
So though to write here, to see if anyone can give me some information
Kind regards, Alice
hello Alice, clarification please - are you saying the same nest/check and the 3 species feeding?
Pallid cuckoos parasitise Willie wagtail, woodswallows, whistlers, robins, orioles, cuckoo-shrikes and honeyeaters
Peter
Hi Peter
So this man has photos of the same Cuckoo chick being fed by three different species. Which would mean the chick has somehow imprinted on 3 host species.. which are all helping to rear it.
Strange I know. It has got me a bit baffled
Alice - is the chick in a nest; does it look natural or staged; my understanding is that Pallid Cuckoos lay one egg in the host nest; that the cuckoo incubation period is shorter and that the young cuckoo ejects the other eggs or young from the nest; it does not seem right
Peter
i don't doubt it at all, no imprinting involved.
instincts
cuckoo chicks are very persistent beggars; sometimes they get lucky as parental instincts kick in.
with captive finches in mixed-species community sometimes fledglings will beg to any nearby bird, not necessarily the parents and not even the same species, sometimes they are fed by the bird accosted. I've had African Firefinch fledglings fed by Gouldian Finches, Double-barred fed by parrot-finches etc.
i've also seen a New Holland Honeyeater feed a fledgling Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoo repeatedly (Horsfield's parasitise thornbills, scrubwrens and fairywrens).
another interesting thing i've seen is juv Horsfield' Bronze- begging to an adult Horsfield's, but i did not see food exchange (though I wouldn't doubt it, I've also heard of fledgling Koels and Channel-billeds being 'recovered' by their parents and associating with them closely post-fledging which I suspect may have occurred with the Horsfield's).
Thank you for your input zosterops. That is very interesting indeed!
I've also heard that sometimes the Parents of Cuckoo chicks will keep a close check on their offspring. By sometimes visiting the nest.
Also did you know a recent 16 year study has shown the offspring survival rate for Corvid spp is greater when the nest was parasitised with a Great Spotted Cuckoo (from Asia and Europe). This was linked to the cuckoo chicks ability to excrete a sticky smelly substance that deterrs predators. Findings like this has caused a 'new twist' on the meanings of mutualism and commensalism. Pretty cool
Kind regards, Alice
Hi Peter, that was my understanding too! But these photo's look very real!! You should check them out. If you have facebook- find Birs of Oz page and you will see a man called Vern has taken the shots.
How right your are, Alice. And it demonstrates the delicate environmental balances that are upset when we interfere with nature.
Alice - I have been accepted into Birds of Oz - what date were the pics posted as a search on 'Vern' was fruitless
Peter
Peter, sorry it is in the Tasmanian Bird Sightings and Photography group. Once you are excepted click into the link see all. Then you will easily see all the pictures Vern has posted on Cuckoos!
Cheers,
al
Central Victoria
https://sites.google.com/site/blackhillreservekyneton/home
Hi Alice
I'm from the UK and just visiting friends in Victoria for a few weeks. I photo'd a juvenile Pallid Cuckoo being fed by two seperate host species here only last week - what looks like a White-naped Honeyeater (although I'm no expert on Australian birds) followed by an an Eastern Yellow Robin twenty minutes later. It was the same cuckoo in the same spot - it hadn't moved. Only discovered this yesterday as I assumed all the photos last week were Eastern Yellow Robin feeding the Cuckoo but browsing through them again I realised I'd somehow missed the Honeyeater in two of the photos. I guess this kind of confirms what you must have seen/heard via the Birds in Oz FB group.
Mike M.
Oh cool Mike. Good work. What interesting little things they are!