Would you raise the bird that murdered your children? - Steve Rothstein
2,276,954 Views
1,121 Questions Answered
TEDEd Animation
Let’s Begin…
A mother honeyguide has placed its chick into a bee-eater’s nest— puncturing all the other eggs in the nest and leaving only its own hatching alive. Over the following weeks, the host parents devotedly care for the hatchling whose mother murdered their offspring. This is brood parasitism, a phenomenon which is especially well-known among birds. Steve Rothstein digs into the evolutionary strategy.
Host rejection of parasitic eggs that look different from those of the host is common but rejecting nestlings is extremely rare even if they look nothing like the host’s young. Why do you think this difference exists or in other words why does it seem so much easier to evolve egg recognition than nestling recognition?
Sign in to answer questionAbout TED-Ed Animations
TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »
Meet The Creators
- Educator Stephen Rothstein
- Director Mauricio Bueno, Lucy Animation Studio
- Narrator Jack Cutmore-Scott
- Storyboard Artist Mauricio Bueno, Dakalister
- Animator Santiago Grillo, Mauricio Bueno, Ana María Martinez, Johanna Benavides, Isabella Giraldo, Mario Carrascal
- Compositor Jorge Moyano, Jefersson Vargas
- Art Director Dakalister
- Line Producer Karina Forero
- Music Adam Alexander, Gavin Dodds
- Sound Designer Adam Alexander, Bamm Bamm Wolfgang
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
- Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
- Editorial Producer Cella Wright
- Script Editor Emma Bryce
- Fact-Checker Jennifer Nam
