Brood parasitism of Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopacea) on the house crow (Corvus splendens) in Pothwar region of Pakistan
2007
Ali, H. (Pakistan Museum of Natural History, Islamabad (Pakistan)) | Hasan, S.A. (Pakistan Museum of Natural History, Islamabad (Pakistan)) | Rana, S.A. (University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (Pakistan). Dept. of Zoology and Fisheries) | Beg, M.A. | Mahmood-ul-Hassan, M.
The Koel Cuckoo or Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea) does not build its own nest and lays eggs in the nest of the House Crow (Corvus splendens). The breeding season of this brood parasite (Asian Koel) coincides with that of its host (House Crow). In this study, which was conducted in Pothwar region of Pakistan, Asian Koel parasitised House Crow nests in all the three habitat types viz. urban, suburban and cropland areas. Frequency of brood parasitism was maximum in cropland nests (24.0%) followed by suburban (20.0%) and urban nests (6.0 I, In 2004 and 2005 breeding seasons, 35.7 % and 36.9 % cuckoo eggs were respectively present in the cuckoo-parasitised nests of the House Crow. No parasitised nest contained more than 3 eggs of cuckoo in a single nest. On the average, first egg of parasite appeared 1.63 days after the host had laid its first egg. No nest was found during this course of study where parasite egg was present in the nest before the host egg. First chick of the parasite appeared 2.4 days (range = 1-4 days) before the first chick of host emerged in the nest. Egg success in the cuckoo-infested nests turned out to be 2.9 for the host and 1.7 for the parasite while number of fledglings per successful brood was 1.4 for the host and 1.2 for the parasite. Occurrence of egg losses was 52.1 % in host and 39.3 % in parasite while nestling losses were 39.3 % for the host and 14.5 % for the parasite.
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