Bird Victims of Cuckoo Evolve Signatures on Their Eggs

Common cuckoo lays eggs in other birds' nests and for these birds, recognizing one's own eggs can be a matter of life or death. In a new study, researchers from Harvard University and the University of Cambridge show that many birds parasitized by the Common Cuckoo have evolved distinctive pattern signatures on their eggs in order to distinguish them from those laid by a cuckoo cheat. The study reveals that these signatures provide a powerful defense against cuckoo trickery, ...