An adult coot can recognize its own chicks and will attack a parasitic chick that hatches in its nest. Photo by B. Lyon. The American coot is a drab, seemingly unremarkable marsh bird common ...

One of the most interesting topics discussed in my Ornithology class was about the “con artists” found in nature… Brood parasitism occurs when a female bird (the parasite) lays her eggs in the nest of ...

Unlike the majority of birds, brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) do not start life surrounded by their own kind. The females do not build nests, but instead add their eggs to the clutches of other ...