Lack of opportunities promotes brood care

[PhysOrg]

Male black coucals who care for their broods alone are just as successful as pairs of the closely related white-browed coucal, where partners share parental duties. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen discovered that a single white-browed coucal parent would be sufficient to raise the brood; they believe that females share the job primarily because they are unlikely to find another mate. In white-browed coucals the sex-ratio is relatively balanced, whereas in black coucals there are more than twice as many males than females.

 

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