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Listen to an Academic Talk Test #075
Listen to an Academic Talk
1. What is the main subject of the lecture?
A) How different bird species build nests
B) A strategy some birds use to raise their young
C) The parenting behaviors of the Common Cuckoo
D) The reasons for egg color variation in birds
2. According to the lecturer, what is a common behavior of a newly hatched cuckoo chick?
A) It mimics the calls of the host's chicks
B) It helps the host parents find food
C) It shares the nest with the other chicks
D) It removes other eggs or chicks from the nest
3. What does the lecturer imply about the host parents?
A) They eventually realize the chick is not their own
B) They are usually larger than the parasite bird
C) They end up with no surviving offspring of their own
D) They choose to abandon nests with strange eggs
4. What is the purpose of mentioning that cuckoo eggs mimic host eggs?
A) To show that both species are closely related
B) To explain a method for avoiding detection
C) To illustrate a common parenting behavior
D) To argue that all bird eggs look similar
Lecturer: Let's discuss a rather cunning reproductive strategy found in the animal kingdom, specifically among birds. It's called brood parasitism. This is where one species, the parasite, lays its eggs in the nest of another species, the host, tricking the host into raising its young.
The most well-known example is the Common Cuckoo. A female cuckoo will find the nest of a smaller bird, remove one of the host's eggs, and lay her own in its place. To avoid being discovered, cuckoo eggs often closely mimic the color and pattern of the host's eggs.
What's more, the cuckoo chick typically hatches earlier than the host's own chicks. Once hatched, the young cuckoo instinctively pushes the host's eggs or other chicks out of the nest.
This ensures it receives all the food the host parents bring. This strategy is obviously very costly to the host species, which invests all its energy into raising an unrelated chick.
The most well-known example is the Common Cuckoo. A female cuckoo will find the nest of a smaller bird, remove one of the host's eggs, and lay her own in its place. To avoid being discovered, cuckoo eggs often closely mimic the color and pattern of the host's eggs.
What's more, the cuckoo chick typically hatches earlier than the host's own chicks. Once hatched, the young cuckoo instinctively pushes the host's eggs or other chicks out of the nest.
This ensures it receives all the food the host parents bring. This strategy is obviously very costly to the host species, which invests all its energy into raising an unrelated chick.
Highlights
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