The cognitive demands associated with brood parasitism are substantial. Not only must female parasites locate nests and assess their suitability for parasitism, they must also time parasitism to correspond with the breeding behavior of the host. Keeping track of the reproductive state of hosts for a variety of nests allows the parasite to select a nest where their egg can be incubated successfully. Thus, nest selection decisions are integral to obligate brood parasites’ reproductive success. In captive breeding flocks of brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater), I provided females access to mock nests that varied in the number of eggs present. By changing the number of eggs added to nests across days, I studied (1) females’ abilities to time a host nest’s readiness for parasitism and (2) the timing of females’ nest selection decisions. I found that cowbirds can attend to the amount of time that elapsed since a host egg was added to a nest and can use that information to choose a nest for parasitism. Females made their choice of nest during prospecting the day before they laid, and, once decided, they did not update their decisions on the day of laying. Taken together, the results reveal that female cowbirds process substantial amounts of information about location, time, number, and rate in order to plan for future parasitism. This research program reveals that species-typical decisions integrate a variety of general and specialized cognitive abilities to allow females to behave adaptively and maximize reproductive success.

中文翻译：

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禽蛋计时器：雌性牛鸟在做出巢寄生决定时会判断过去、现在和未来

与巢寄生相关的认知需求是巨大的。雌性寄生虫不仅必须定位巢穴并评估它们是否适合寄生，还必须根据宿主的繁殖行为确定寄生时间。跟踪各种巢穴的宿主的繁殖状态可以让寄生虫选择一个可以成功孵化卵的巢穴。因此，巢选择决定是保证寄生物繁殖成功的必要条件。在棕头牛鸫（Molothrus ater）的圈养繁殖群中，我为雌性提供了进入不同卵数的模拟巢穴的途径。通过在几天内改变添加到巢中的鸡蛋数量，我研究了 (1) 雌性对寄主巢准备寄生的时间的能力，以及 (2) 雌性选择巢穴的时间。我发现牛鸟可以记录自宿主蛋被添加到巢中后所经过的时间，并可以使用该信息来选择一个巢进行寄生。雌性在产蛋前一天在勘探期间选择了巢穴，一旦决定，它们就不会在产蛋当天更新自己的决定。综上所述，结果表明，雌性牛鸫会处理大量关于位置、时间、数量和速率的信息，以便为未来的寄生做好准备。该研究计划表明，物种典型的决定整合了各种一般和专门的认知能力，使雌性能够适应并最大限度地提高繁殖成功率。雌性在产蛋前一天在勘探期间选择了巢穴，一旦决定，它们就不会在产蛋当天更新自己的决定。综上所述，结果表明，雌性牛鸫会处理大量关于位置、时间、数量和速率的信息，以便为未来的寄生做好准备。该研究计划表明，物种典型的决定整合了各种一般和专门的认知能力，使雌性能够适应并最大限度地提高繁殖成功率。雌性在产蛋前一天在勘探期间选择了巢穴，一旦决定，它们就不会在产蛋当天更新自己的决定。综上所述，结果表明，雌性牛鸫会处理大量关于位置、时间、数量和速率的信息，以便为未来的寄生做好准备。该研究计划表明，物种典型的决定整合了各种一般和专门的认知能力，使雌性能够适应并最大限度地提高繁殖成功率。并进行评分，以便为未来的寄生做好计划。该研究计划表明，物种典型的决定整合了各种一般和专门的认知能力，使雌性能够适应并最大限度地提高繁殖成功率。并进行评分，以便为未来的寄生做好计划。该研究计划表明，物种典型的决定整合了各种一般和专门的认知能力，使雌性能够适应并最大限度地提高繁殖成功率。