Stephanie McClelland’s paper entitled “Eggshell composition and surface properties of avian brood-parasitic species compared with non-parasitic species” has been published in the journal Royal Society Open Science. This study measured structural properties of the eggshells of brood parasites and their hosts around the world. The study found that, in general, brood parasites’ eggshell properties were not different from hosts’ eggshell properties. However, for one of the properties measured, the surface roughness of eggshells, brood parasites’ eggshells were more similar to those of their hosts than to other species. Overall, though, the lack of a clear pattern in the eggshells of brood parasites and their hosts suggests that factors such as the phylogenetic history of these species might be more important in determining eggshell properties than parasitism or nest environment. In Zambia, Stephanie collaborated with Nick Horrocks, Gabriel Jamie, Tanmay Dixit, and Claire Spottiswoode, working on honeyguides, cuckoo finches, and Vidua finches. Well done Steph and everyone on the team!
Citation: McClelland SC, Attard MRG, Bowen J, Horrocks NPC, Jamie GA, Dixit T, Spottiswoode CN, Portugal SJ. 2023 Eggshell composition and surface properties of avian brood-parasitic species compared with non-parasitic species. R. Soc. Open Sci.10: 221023. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221023