W. Barksdale Maynard

The breeding habits of tropical cuckoos, whose unrelated adults cooperate to rear young, have raised questions about the limits of kin selection in evolution.

Right Now | January-February 2013

Unrelated tropical cuckoos find safety sharing a communal nest

The breeding behavior of tropical cuckoos, in which unrelated adults share a communal nest, proves an exception to the theory of kin selection.