How Did Bird Babysitting Co-Ops Evolve? | Newswise: News for Journalists

Credit: Fabrizio Moglia

Siberian jays are not cooperative breeders but they have taken what new research suggests is the first step toward cooperation: living in family groups. The addition of this intermediate step may resolve a long-running battle over the evolution of sociality.

« How Did Bird Babysitting Co-Ops Evolve?

Credit: Peter Massas

Cooperative breeding is common among hornbills, such as the southern ground hornbill shown here. Studies of this family of birds, which live in Old World tropical regions, suggest that the evolution of this behavior was favored by stable climates.

« How Did Bird Babysitting Co-Ops Evolve?

Credit: Dennis Irrgang

Superb starlings are also cooperative breeders but they live in semiarid areas with undependable rainfall, a climate that is thought to have pushed them toward greater cooperation as a way of coping with variability.

« How Did Bird Babysitting Co-Ops Evolve?

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