A simple rule reduces costs of extragroup parasitism in a communally breeding bird.

Abstract excerpt

How do cooperatively breeding groups resist invasion by parasitic "cheaters," which dump their eggs in the communal nest but provide no parental care [1,2]? Here I show that Greater Anis (Crotophaga major), Neotropical cuckoos that nest in social groups containing several breeding females [3], use a simple rule based on the timing of laying to recognize and reject eggs laid by extragroup parasites. I...

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