22 Dec 2016 - Sciencemag.org

These parasitic birds act just like human criminals

A team of researchers led by Romina Scardamaglia, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Buenos Aires, decided to use new radio-tracking technology to snoop on two kinds of devious cowbirds in Argentina. All 41 tagged birds checked their target nests a few days ahead of time to fine tune their timing, the team reports this month in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology [+].

Scardamaglia RC, Fiorini VD, Kacelnik A, and Reboreda JC. Planning host exploitation through prospecting visits by parasitic cowbirds. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (2017)