Topic description and stories

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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Brown thornbill

Birds ‘cry hawk’ to give offspring chance to escape predators

03 Jun 2015

Surprising finding shows that thornbills simulate a ‘chorus of alarm’ to distract predators by convincing them something scarier is on its way.

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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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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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BUTTERFLY

How the butterflies got their spots

04 Feb 2010

How two butterfly species have evolved exactly the same striking wing colour and pattern has intrigued biologists since Darwin's day. Now, scientists...

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Heliconius melpomene

On the wings of a butterfly

01 May 2009

Since Darwin’s time, Amazonian butterflies have intrigued biologists as examples of evolution in action.

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