Koel bird tricks magpies into raising their young
Koel bird tricks magpies into raising their young
2024-09-02
Nature is full of surprises! Every mating season, pairs of Formosan blue magpies work hard to make and protect their nests, and then later to feed their needy young. But some bird enthusiasts discovered that near Shimen Reservoir, some of the hatchlings weren’t magpies at all. They’re Asian koels. Koels do not make their own nests, incubate their own eggs, or raise their own young. Instead, they trick magpies into doing it for them.
A Formosan blue magpie flies to and fro, bringing food back to her nest to feed the fledgling inside. The youngsters raise their mouths wide to the sky, begging for breakfast. But wait. Aren’t the markings on that chick different?
Huang Shu-ting
Birds Taiwan deputy secretary-general
The magpie is oblivious and rears the Asian koels’ young. This nest for example had three magpie hatchlings, but two disappeared. We think the koel fledgling kicked them out.
It isn’t the result of infidelity on the part of the magpie couple. Rather, another bird secretly lay her egg in their nest.
Birder
It’s a koel. They don’t raise their own young. It’s like having a foster family. The magpies raise their chicks for them.
Some birders found an example of magpies being suckered into giving free childcare near Shimen Reservoir in Taoyuan. The interloper is an Asian koel. Lazy koel parents don’t make their own nests, incubate their own eggs, or raise their own young. They instead lay their eggs in other birds’ nests, then wait until the fledgling is old enough to fly before sneaking them back out.
Birder
The call of the magpie is very different from the koel’s. The fledglings will follow the call of their parents.
Nature works in mysterious ways. There’s a bird that doesn’t raise its own young, and another that can’t even recognize its own young. You never know what you’ll discover.
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噪鵑"蛋下在別人鳥巢"就溜 台灣藍鵲慘當冤大頭
2024-09-02
自然生態無奇不有！每到台灣藍鵲繁殖季，親鳥坐巢保護雛鳥、雛鳥也張大嘴巴向親鳥索食，但石門水庫附近卻有鳥友發現，台灣藍鵲餵的，竟然不是自己的幼鳥，而是被噪鵑寄養的，鳥友還說噪鵑鳥爸媽有三不，不築巢 不孵化、不育雛，因此讓台灣藍鵲慘當冤大頭。
台灣藍鵲忙進忙出，叼著美食回家，鳥巢裡，雛鳥正張大嘴巴，嗷嗷待哺，等著爸爸媽媽餵食，不過等等，鳥寶寶身上的花紋，竟然和爸爸媽媽不一樣?
[[臺灣野鳥保育協會副秘書長 黃蜀婷]]
“不知情的藍鵲，就是來養噪鵑的寶寶，這一巢據說有三隻(台灣藍鵲)寶寶，但是兩隻後來都不見了，估計是被噪鵑的幼鳥踢出巢外”
原來不是台灣藍鵲夫妻其中一方出軌，而是別的鳥類，偷偷下蛋。
[[鳥友]]
“就噪鵑託卵啊，牠又沒有自己養，就等於是類似寄宿家庭這樣，等於是藍鵲來養牠嘛”
有鳥友在桃園石門水庫附近，拍到台灣藍鵲當"免費保母"的奇景。寄生的鳥寶寶名叫噪鵑，懶惰的噪鵑爸媽有"三不"，不築巢、不孵化也不育雛，把蛋下在別人的鳥巢就溜，等孩子長大會飛後，再偷偷帶走。
[[鳥友]]
“藍鵲的叫聲跟噪鵑的叫聲，一定不一樣，雛鳥就會跟著，循著叫聲，就會跟著爸媽走”
只能說大自然實在奧妙，有不養孩子的鳥爸媽，也有傻傻分不清自家小孩的台灣藍鵲，大千世界真的無奇不有。
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