Birds evolve 'signature' patterns to distinguish cuckoo eggs from their own

Wednesday, June 18, 2014 - 04:00 in Biology & Nature

For some birds, recognising their own eggs can be a matter of life or death. In a new study, scientists have shown that many birds affected by the parasitic Common Cuckoo - which lays its lethal offspring in other birds' nests - have evolved distinctive patterns on their eggs in order to distinguish them from those laid by a cuckoo cheat.

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