Cuckoo

Cheating by Nature

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Biological Sciences, Biology, Nature, Animals
Cover of the book Cuckoo by Nick Davies, Bloomsbury Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Nick Davies ISBN: 9781620409534
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Publication: April 7, 2015
Imprint: Bloomsbury USA Language: English
Author: Nick Davies
ISBN: 9781620409534
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication: April 7, 2015
Imprint: Bloomsbury USA
Language: English

A gifted biologist's careful and beguiling study of why cuckoos have got away with tricking other birds into hatching and raising their young for thousands of years.

The familiar call of the common cuckoo, “cuck-oo,” has been a harbinger of spring ever since our ancestors walked out of Africa many thousands of years ago. However, for naturalist and scientist Nick Davies, the call is an invitation to solve an enduring puzzle: how does the cuckoo get away with laying its eggs in the nests of other birds and tricking them into raising young cuckoos rather than their own offspring?

Early observers who noticed a little warbler feeding a monstrously large cuckoo chick concluded the cuckoo's lack of parental care was the result of faulty design by the Creator, and that the hosts chose to help the poor cuckoo. These quaint views of bad design and benevolence were banished after Charles Darwin proposed that the cuckoo tricks the hosts in an evolutionary battle, where hosts evolve better defenses against cuckoos and cuckoos, in turn, evolve better trickery to outwit the hosts.

For the last three decades, Davies has employed observation and field experiments to unravel the details of this evolutionary “arms race” between cuckoos and their hosts. Like a detective, Davies and his colleagues studied adult cuckoo behavior, cuckoo egg markings, and cuckoo chick begging calls to discover exactly how cuckoos trick their hosts. For birding and evolution aficionados, The Cuckoo is a lyrical and scientifically satisfying exploration of one of nature's most astonishing and beautiful adaptations.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A gifted biologist's careful and beguiling study of why cuckoos have got away with tricking other birds into hatching and raising their young for thousands of years.

The familiar call of the common cuckoo, “cuck-oo,” has been a harbinger of spring ever since our ancestors walked out of Africa many thousands of years ago. However, for naturalist and scientist Nick Davies, the call is an invitation to solve an enduring puzzle: how does the cuckoo get away with laying its eggs in the nests of other birds and tricking them into raising young cuckoos rather than their own offspring?

Early observers who noticed a little warbler feeding a monstrously large cuckoo chick concluded the cuckoo's lack of parental care was the result of faulty design by the Creator, and that the hosts chose to help the poor cuckoo. These quaint views of bad design and benevolence were banished after Charles Darwin proposed that the cuckoo tricks the hosts in an evolutionary battle, where hosts evolve better defenses against cuckoos and cuckoos, in turn, evolve better trickery to outwit the hosts.

For the last three decades, Davies has employed observation and field experiments to unravel the details of this evolutionary “arms race” between cuckoos and their hosts. Like a detective, Davies and his colleagues studied adult cuckoo behavior, cuckoo egg markings, and cuckoo chick begging calls to discover exactly how cuckoos trick their hosts. For birding and evolution aficionados, The Cuckoo is a lyrical and scientifically satisfying exploration of one of nature's most astonishing and beautiful adaptations.

More books from Bloomsbury Publishing

Cover of the book Developing Self-Confidence in Young Writers by Nick Davies
Cover of the book Odette's Secrets by Nick Davies
Cover of the book Culinary Art and Anthropology by Nick Davies
Cover of the book X by Nick Davies
Cover of the book The Waffen-SS (1) by Nick Davies
Cover of the book Mince Spies by Nick Davies
Cover of the book The Literature of Reconstruction by Nick Davies
Cover of the book Aces of Jagdgeschwader 3 'Udet' by Nick Davies
Cover of the book The Mongol Invasions of Japan 1274 and 1281 by Nick Davies
Cover of the book Beyond a Joke by Nick Davies
Cover of the book Building Classroom Success by Nick Davies
Cover of the book Vittoria 1813 by Nick Davies
Cover of the book Green Guide to Butterflies Of Britain And Europe by Nick Davies
Cover of the book Princess Ponies 2: A Dream Come True by Nick Davies
Cover of the book The Sea and the Sacred in Japan by Nick Davies
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy