Channel Billed Cuckoos

[Black Orchid]

Each year these parasites migrate from Papua New Guinea and Indonesia to northern and eastern Australia and then return home in February to March. They're ugly things with red eyes.

While here they lay their eggs in the nests of Magpies and Currawongs. Once hatched they grow so fast they even overtake the size of their adoptive 'parents.' They'll eat the eggs of other birds and push the young out of their nest. They are constantly hungry and squawk for food all day running the poor Magpies ragged whilst the Magpie's true offspring starve to death (if they haven't already been pushed out of the nest).

I've been hearing one for the past few days and I cringe every time I hear it.

Someone should shoot them!

[Jasin]

Get someone with a ladder to climb up and neck it.

[Black Orchid]

There's a lot of bush surrounding me so I have no idea which tree it's in. Otherwise I probably would.

[tllwd]

Can try cheap dron with flashing lights and audio noise to chase them away

but they keep adapting

[Jasin]

Interesting clip Tallowood. Some of it rings a bell in regards to human colonisations.
Amazing how a Cuckoo chick knows instinctively to push the other eggs or chicks out once it hatched. It's predation in a way, with the predator species showing more intelligence. Going back to destroy the nest and other species eggs if the foster parents don't comply. The foster parents not smart enough to realise they lose their chicks anyway in the process.
Amazing.

[Black Orchid]

Looks like the Cuckoo still survived?

[Jasin]

Sinister little things.
Like a family adopting a foreign child, who eventually kills off their own kids, that are reported to police as missing, in some horror movie.

[Black Orchid]

They should be listed as a noxious pest.

[tllwd]

Interesting clip Tallowood. Some of it rings a bell in regards to human colonisations.
Amazing how a Cuckoo chick knows instinctively to push the other eggs or chicks out once it hatched. It's predation in a way, with the predator species showing more intelligence. Going back to destroy the nest and other species eggs if the foster parents don't comply. The foster parents not smart enough to realise they lose their chicks anyway in the process.
Amazing.

The story of Romulus and Remus is an example of brood parasitism

romrem.gif

[tllwd]

The story of Romulus and Remus is an example of brood parasitism
romrem.gif

I wonder if "brood parasitism" subroutine is programmed on molecular level same as "caine-abel"?