Brood parasitism by the Striped Cuckoo (Tapera naevia) on the Rufous-fronted Thornbird (Phacellodomus rufifrons) in Brazil's Cerrado

New breeding information on Brazilian birds. 2: Columbidae and Cuculidae

“…As an obligate parasite, the breeding season of T. naevia depends entirely on that of its hosts (Ballarini et al 2022), which thus covers almost the entire year, considering all host species, as already observed by Haverschmidt & Mees (1994). However, regionally the reproductive period is usually more restricted (Friedmann 1933, Salvador 1982, Di Giacomo 2005.…”

“…The T. naevia eggs we observed were white, like those in Argentina and Brazil (Friedmann 1927, Salvador 1982, de la Peña 1983, Sick 1997, Di Giacomo 2005, Ballarini et al 2022. However, eggs in northern South America and Central America are polymorphic and may be white, bluish or bluish green (Haverschmidt & Mees 1994.…”

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“…As an obligate parasite, the breeding season of T. naevia depends entirely on that of its hosts (Ballarini et al 2022), which thus covers almost the entire year, considering all host species, as already observed by Haverschmidt & Mees (1994). However, regionally the reproductive period is usually more restricted (Friedmann 1933, Salvador 1982.…”

“…This period largely coincides with previous observations of between 16 and 18 days (Salvador 1982, Haverschmidt & Mees 1994). Ballarini et al (2022) indicated a longer period, mean 20.8 days (n = 8). Some authors have indicated that T. naevia chicks may destroy part of the host nest or enlarge the tunnel to exit (Salvador 1982, Sick 1953b, Murcia et al 2020), but we did not witness such behaviour.…”

“…Nest types of hosts are almost all globular and closed, many having entrance tunnels. Some, such as Phacellodomus rufifrons and Certhiaxis cinnamomeus, may have 43.7% and up to 75% of their nests parasitised in some regions (Murcia et al 2020, Ballarini et al 2022. It is still unclear how T. naevia manages to insert its egg into the oological chamber of these nests, as direct observations are lacking.…”