La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

Titre :	Egg rejection by Iberian azure-winged magpies Cyanopica cyanus in the absence of brood parasitism
Auteurs :	J. M. Avilés, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	Journal of Avian Biology (35(4) JUL 2004)
Article en page(s) :	295-299
Langues:	Anglais
Résumé :	The Iberian azure-winged magpie Cyanopica cyanus shows a remarkable ability to discriminate against great spotted cuckoo Clamator glandarius eggs. Here, I studied whether egg recognition in this species could be a derived feature resulting from intraspecific brood parasitism. Azure-winged magpies showed a very high level of discrimination and rejection of great spotted Cuckoo models (73.7%), and of conspecific eggs (42.8%). even when no evidence of great spotted Cuckoo or conspecific brood parasitism has been found in the population. Azure-winged magpie discriminated more readily than magpies, the current favourite host of the great spotted cuckoo. The high rejection rate of conspecific eggs by the azure-winged magpie suggests that it is quite possible that egg discrimination in this species evolved in response to conspecific brood parasitism rather than to cuckoo parasitism.

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