Cuckoos, cowbirds and other cheats.

London: T & A D Poyser, 2000.
Octavo, dustwrapper, 310 pp. illustrations.

Cuckoos and cowbirds are among the birds renowned as professional parasites, who always lay their eggs in the nests of other species. Occassional parasitic laying is also widespread in many other birds, who gladly parasitise the nests of their own kind when the opportunity arises. In this fascinating new book, Nick Davies describes the natural histories of all the brood parasites and examines the exciting questions they raise about the evolution of cheating and the adaptations of parasites and their hosts.