Birds are renowned for their complex social conduct , from the rookery of penguins to thecooperative abilitiesof raven . Now the everyday spirit of a chemical group of sapayoa ( Sapayoa aenigma ) has been celebrate in point for the first time , and scientists can contribute bisexual category communes to the list of prove bird behavior .
scientist studied two active nest of sapayoa , a species of greenish - icteric bird found in Panama . In one of them , they observed a family radical of six and discovered that they are cooperative breeders : the two immature males helped the adult male and female feed the two chicks . They also observed one of the adult male ride a new male and one younger male mounting the other , an unusual behavior that might be associated with social dominance .
These are not the only unexpected behaviors the scientists ground . The young males sometimes arrive at the nest with nutrient , but do n’t fertilize the untested , occasionally eating the food themselves .
“ This could represent ‘ fake - feeding , ’ when birds bring food for thought to the nest to appear like team histrion , but surreptitiously eat it themselves . It ’s also potential that the unseasoned males were simply balancing the needs of the chicks with their own hunger . Clearly , there is much still to learn , ” said Sarah Dzielski , lead author of the study , in astatement .
The sapayoa ’s closest relatives are not in the Americas but in Asia and Africa , where over 50 species forge a group called Old World suboscines . The paper , print inThe Auk : Ornithological Advances , spotlight authoritative connections between birds from the Old and New World . Just like the sapayoa , suboscines are also cooperative breeders and build pear - shape hanging nest .
“ The Sapayoa is so different from other passerine wench that it is presently invest in its own kinsperson , Sapayoidae , but relatively lilliputian is known about its natural history , ” added co - author Benjamin Van Doren . “ This interruption in scientific knowledge was the reason we locomote to eastern Panama to study about this enigmatic metal money . We hop-skip that more information about the Sapayoa ’s natural account would hurl its surprising evolutionary relationships in a new and readable light . ”
