Learning to Recognize a Cuckoo

摘要

Species that are parasitized by cuckoos have evolved several strategies for trying to avoid having their nests hijacked-one of the most obvious being outright attacking, or mobbing, of cuckoos that enter the area. However, cuckoos are not without evolved defenses-most common cuckoo females look remarkably similar to a small hawk, and this mimicry deters mobbing. Thorogood and Davies (p. 578; see the Perspective by Mappes and Lindstrom) show that social learning in parasitized birds can thwart this protective mimicry.