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Misdirected parental care by a male Eastern Towhee at a Wood Thrush nest.

Article Excerpt
Misdirected parental care is intra- or interspecific care directed toward the young of an unrelated bird (Shy 1982, Price et al. 1983). Misdirected parental care differs from interspecific feeding, which also may include an adult of one species feeding an adult of another species (Boix-Hinzen 1997). Misdirected parental care has been described several times for the Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), but Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) are not known to exhibit this behavior or cooperate as recipients of the behavior in the wild. Skutch (1961) reported an adult male Wood Thrush helped feed nestlings of several different species in an aviary. Shy (1982) reported four occurrences of the Eastern Towhee feeding young of other species, including Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla), Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), and House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus). We report the first case of Wood Thrush nestlings in a nest parasitized by the Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) being fed by a male Eastern Towhee.

Wood Thrush nests were located and monitored during the 2006 field season as part of a long-term study of Wood Thrush breeding ecology in the 15-ha University of Delaware Woods (UDW) in Newark, Delaware (Brown and Roth 2002, 2009). Individually color-banded adults were associated with each nest and assumed to be the social parents of young Wood Thrushes in the nest. An 80-mm spotting scope was used to conduct observations from a blind approximately 15 m from the nest for at least 1 hr/day...

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