Smart Bird Babies 'Know' Food Supply Before Hatching

RedTracker| Scientists studying bird behavior have concluded that canary mothers send messages via androgen deposits into the eggs, giving baby canaries a heads up on what to expect foodwise once they hatch. In response, the nestlings adjust their begging for food behaviour.

Dr Rebecca Kilner, from the Cambridge University research team, told Wired that while it is not known how the chicks “read” these androgen messages, “We do know that chicks with higher androgen levels beg more intensely.”

Researchers switched eggs with canary mothers, creating situations in which big beggars chicks didn’t develop as well because their new mom didn’t ‘hop to it’ when they called for food. The best bird baby development occurred when mom and baby had a mutual understanding of what the baby could expect in terms of maternal feeding behavior, which is also impacted by environment and not capricious maternal behavior.

Mothers also had a response to the intensity of chick behavior.

“Mothers that were exposed to a less demanding brood than their own laid more eggs the following year, whereas females that cared for a more demanding foster brood produced fewer eggs.” The number of eggs produced in the following batch was directly related to how demanding the first chicks had been. via Wired Magazine