Re: PARASITIC HONEYGUIDES

["Matthew Troutman" <m_troutman@hotmail.com>]

<<This seems to be a reference to Honeyguides (Indicatoridae) which are 
nest parasites with parasitic juveniles. I have seen juvenile 
indicatorids - though they are altricial, with ugly pink skin,  bulbous 
closed eyes and barb-less wings, they are vicious little predatory 
creatures with evil hooked beaks and trenchant recurved  pedal claws. 
Oddly, they also have rugose, thickened skin patches on 
the caudal angle of their ankle - presumably this aids them in 
sitting upright, I suppose so they can attack other chicks all the 
better. They are aggressive predators that kill host chicks by 
pecking and tearing with their hooked beaks.>>

Though these aren't the cuckoos I had in mind, it is a good example.  

To kill two birds with one stone ( no pun intended ) I want to respond 
to the question of why some falconiform chicks kill their own young.  
Cain and Abel syndrome as this is called is a relatively common 
behavioral phemonom in raptor chicks such as Aquilus and Falco chicks.  
The purpose for Cain and Abel syndrome may be for ensuring that the 
strongest members of a species survive, thus making the species 
stronger.  I'll have more on this later, maybe....

Matt Troutman

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