Contents 



Acknowledgments vii 



Introduction 1 



Phylogenetic relationships 3 



Migratory behavior 25 



Courtship behavior 34 



Features of brood parasitism in Chrysococcyx 36 



Host selection and its evolution 36 



Host specificity 39 



Egg morphism 66 



Mode of egg-laying by adult cuckoos 81 



Mode of deposition 81 



Interval between eggs 85 



Number of eggs 87 



Removal of host eggs by adult cuckoos 87 



Host-parasite nestling relations 91 



Eviction of nest-mates by nestling cuckoos 96 



Fledgling feeding by adult cuckoos 98 



Summary and conclusions 103 



Appendix 108 



The existing species and their distribution 108 



The plumages of Chrysococcyx flavigularis 112 



References 113 



Index 129 



V 



