brood parasitism

American  

noun

1. a form of social parasitism practiced by certain birds, as cuckoos and cowbirds, in which eggs are laid in the nests of other birds, causing them to be hatched and the young reared by the hosts, often at the cost of the hosts' own young.

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Example Sentences

In addition, birds may want signatures on their eggs for reasons unrelated to brood parasitism.

From Salon • Apr. 17, 2022

It is a practice known as "brood parasitism," in which an animal furtively leaves its eggs to be raised by another species.

From Salon • Apr. 17, 2022

Biologist and broadcaster Carin Bondar’s tour of the vagaries of motherhood in the animal kingdom is a thrills-and-spills survey, from brood parasitism to cooperative breeding.

From Nature • Mar. 27, 2018

But bald eagles don’t usually suffer from brood parasitism, so they have no defenses to weed them out.

From Washington Post • Jun. 29, 2017

For the number of times that “professional” brood parasitism has evolved in birds, see Sorenson, M. D. and Payne, R. B. 2002.

From New York Times • Jun. 2, 2010