Finch feeding a Cuckoo chick

This poor Finch thinks this chick is hers, but due to the way Cuckoos lay their eggs in other birds' nests, neither the chick nor the Finch know they are not related. See how hard the poor Finch has to work to feed a baby almost twice its size.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Finch
• Cuckoo
• feeding
• birds
• birdwatching
• twitchers
• baby
• ornithology

[john42t]

@Queen0fNosgoth But only because humans are not considered part of nature, which is a definition that, although sometimes useful, should not be misused to imply moral implications.

[TeamCavalier]

I'm no bird expert, but from what I've seen personally on my property, this look like a cowbird chick, another parasitic species. The picture is a little blurry but I've looked at cuckoo juveniles online and they are more spotted in appearance. I've seen song sparrows feeding two cowbird chicks in the last two weeks. What's less common is the fact that they're siblings. On average cowbirds lay one egg per nest and sometimes multiple cowbirds parasitize one nest.

[Queen0fNosgoth]

It's not against nature it IS nature. You removing a cuckoo egg from another bird's nest would be against nature.

[hippocampuszosterae]

They're not "lazy" Over time, cuckoos have lost the instinct to take care of chicks. They simply don't know how.

Instead, the maternal instinct has been replaced by that of a nest parasite. That's HOW it raises its young. By being a right bastard. lol

You wouldn't be letting the species reproduce.

[Forzin]

Think of it like Childcare. Poor old Cuckoo needs to care for itself, and so, dumps the child on someone else. Just like Childcare... without the monetary benefits.

[eastyg]

Its against nature but i would destroy any cuckoo egg i found in another birds nest. Theyre so lazy

[Flameswordsman86]

Heh, nice dramatic music to overlay the video.

It seems wrong that the Cuckoo's get to escape parenthood and lay it on some other unsuspecting birds, but I can't bring myself to hate the Cuckoo babies for it, even if they are massive while the little parent bird scrambles to bring it more food.

Atleast this Finch is probably in for an easier time this year if its only got her own babies to look after.

[qazqaz35]

Amazing!