Abstract

Experimental studies were carried out on the behavior of the host concerning egg discrimination in three geographic populations of the Yellow-browed Warbler with different levels of brood parasitism of the Oriental Cuckoo. The absence of a spotted pattern on the shell of foreign eggs was shown to fail to serve as a stimulus to recognition. The acceptance or rejection of a foreign egg is determined by the ratio of the parasite to the host egg breadth, the mean size of the eggs in the individual host clutch also being of importance. This suggests that the recognition of parasite eggs by the host is based on the tactile contact of the female with the uneven surface of the clutch. The mean breadth of the Oriental Cuckoo eggs introduced into Yellow-browed Warbler nests is significantly smaller than the value at which the probability of egg rejection is equal to the probability of acceptance. As it is also smaller than in other gentes, this shows the adaptation of the brood parasite to this particular host. The acceptance of a foreign egg, ejection of it from the nest, and clutch desertion represent three stages of the same reaction in response to variation in a quantitative stimulus.

中文翻译：

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卵大小作为对东方杜鹃（Cuculus optatus，Cuculidae）亲寄生的黄眉莺（Phylloscopus inornatus，Phylloscopidae）歧视行为的主要刺激

摘要

实验研究了在三只地理分布不同的东方杜鹃巢寄生的黄眉莺种群中宿主对卵歧视的行为。已证明，在外来鸡蛋壳上没有斑点图案不能起到刺激识别的作用。是否接受异卵取决于寄生虫与宿主卵宽度的比率，单个宿主离合器中卵的平均大小也很重要。这表明宿主对寄生虫卵的识别是基于雌性与离合器不平坦表面的触觉接触。引入黄眉莺巢中的东方杜鹃蛋的平均宽度显着小于拒卵的概率等于接受的概率的值。因为它也比其他绅士小，这表明亲虫对这种特定寄主的适应。接受外来鸡蛋，将其从巢中弹出以及离去的离合器代表了同一反应的三个阶段，以响应定量刺激的变化。