10.5061/DRYAD.1004F
Trnka, Alfréd
University of Trnava
Požgayová, Milica
Institute of Vertebrate Biology
Procházka, Petr
Institute of Vertebrate Biology
Capek, Miroslav
Institute of Vertebrate Biology
Honza, Marcel
Institute of Vertebrate Biology
Data from: Chemical defence in avian brood parasites: production and
function of repulsive secretions in common cuckoo chicks
Dryad
dataset
2015
Cuculus canorus
common cuckoo
malodorous secretion
nest predation
repellency
Acrocephalus arundinaceus
brood parasitism
2015-09-23T15:25:26Z
2015-09-23T15:25:26Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.00785
87040 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
The use of active chemical defence against predators is relatively rare in
birds. Among others, it has been reported for some members of family
Cuculidae whose chicks, when threatened, expel dark foul-smelling liquid
from their cloaca. Apart from the brood parasitic great spotted cuckoo
Clamator glandarius, however, this phenomenon has not yet been
systematically studied in any other cuckoo species. Here we investigated
the repellent behaviour in the evicting brood parasite, the common cuckoo
Cuculus canorus, parasitizing the great reed warbler Acrocephalus
arundinaceus. We explored whether production of secretions varies with
chick age or size, and tested its presumed repellent function against
various types of predators. We found that the production of secretions
commenced at the age of approximately eight days, then gradually increased
and decreased again shortly before fledging. Furthermore, we
experimentally confirmed a more intensive repellent effect of the
secretions on mammal predators than on avian predators, such as raptors
and owls. The secretions have, however, no effect on corvid predators,
probably because these scavengers often consume malodorous food. Further
experimental studies together with phylogenetic comparative analyses are
needed to elucidate the origin and function of this intriguing phenomenon
both in parasitic and non-parasitic cuckoos.
Chemical defence in avian brood parasites_raw dataRaw data obtained from
the study
Czech Republic
Slovakia
Central Europe