Topic description and stories

Gabon

Earth, wind and flyer: the moves of Disco Tony and friends

26 Jul 2016

Disco Tony has travelled over 5,000 miles. He is grey with a yellow ring around his eyes. He is a cuckoo, but not just any cuckoo. He is one of a...

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A reed warbler feeds a cuckoo fledgling

The reed warbler and the cuckoo: an escalating game of trickery and defence

22 Feb 2016

Professor Nick Davies, who gives this week’s Darwin Lecture , has been studying reed warblers for more than 30 years – and has unlocked many of the...

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A cuckoo chick ejects a reed warbler egg from a nest

Neighbourhood watch and more: how reed warblers watch out when there’s a cuckoo about

22 Jan 2016

A study of reed warbler behaviour reveals for the first time that in assessing the risks posed by cuckoos the birds combine information from multiple...

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Cuckoo finch on the left and a bishop bird on the right

Cuckoos mimic 'harmless' species as a disguise to infiltrate host nests

10 Jun 2015

First time ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ mimicry has been seen in birds. Host birds have evolved a general counter-strategy in which they defend against...

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Birds evolve ‘signature’ patterns to distinguish cuckoo eggs from their own

18 Jun 2014

Using new ‘pattern recognition algorithm,’ latest research highlights how birds are ‘fighting back’ against the parasitic Common Cuckoo in what...

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Cuckoos impersonate hawks by matching their 'outfits'

17 Oct 2013

Evolutionary trick allows cuckoos to mimic the plumage of birds of prey, and may be used to scare mothers from their nests so that cuckoos can lay...

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Honeyguide birds destroy own species’ eggs to eliminate competition

21 Aug 2013

Scientists believe behaviour drives evolution of egg size similar to hosts.

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Grey morph and rufous morph

Cuckoo tricks to beat the neighbourhood watch

02 Aug 2012

New research explains why female cuckoos have evolved different guises.

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Image shows a variety of cuckoo finches each adapted to mimic a different host species or colour morph

Biological arms races in birds

13 Apr 2011

New research reveals how biological arms races between cuckoos and host birds can escalate into a competition between the host evolving new, unique...

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The Cowbird's Nest

Bird’s eye view of how cuckoos fool their hosts

23 Apr 2010

Using field experiments in Africa and a new computer model that gives them a bird's eye view of the world, Cambridge scientists have discovered how a...

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