Social Cuckoos Welcome! You are encouraged to register with the site and login (for free). When you register, you support the site and your question history is saved.Known to be antisocial birds, cuckoos are solitary animals that practice brood parasitism, whereby they plant their young in another bird's nest through deception and subterfuge so that the host bird will take on the burden of raising the cuckoo's offspring. However, the ani species of cuckoo is highly social; anis congregate with others of their kind and often trust humans. Scientists attribute the anis' more social behavior to communal living conditions that do not require antisocial behavior of the birds. Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the scientists' explanation of anis' more social behavior? The degree to which a bird is social or antisocial is species-dependent and therefore primarily genetic. The more social species of cuckoo nest communally; a number of females lay their eggs in the nest and usually share the responsibility of incubation and feeding. The majority of cuckoos are monogamous, having only one mate. In some cuckoo communal living environments, female cuckoos take multiple males as mates. Cuckoos tend to show flexibility in prey and foraging techniques. Review Answer