Choose the incorrect statements from the following:
A. In brood parasitism, the parasitic bird lays its eggs in the nest of its host and lets the host incubate them.
B. In brood parasitism, the eggs of the host bird have evolved to resemble the eggs of the parasitic bird in size and colour.
C. Brood parasitism can be watched in the cuckoo (koel) and the crow during the breeding season.
D. Brood parasitism in birds is an example of an interaction in which one species benefits and the other is harmed.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → B only
Brood parasitism is a kind of parasitism seen in birds. The parasitic bird lays its eggs in the nest of a host bird and lets the host incubate them. Over time, the parasite’s eggs have come to look like the host’s eggs, so the host does not notice and throw them out.
A. In brood parasitism, the parasitic bird lays its eggs in the nest of its host and lets the host incubate them. — True. This is how the book describes brood parasitism.
B. In brood parasitism, the eggs of the host bird have evolved to resemble the eggs of the parasitic bird in size and colour. — False. It is the other way round. The eggs of the parasitic bird have evolved to resemble the host’s eggs. The parasite gains by hiding its eggs among the host’s; the host gains nothing from copying the parasite.
C. Brood parasitism can be watched in the cuckoo (koel) and the crow during the breeding season. — True. The koel lays its eggs in the crow’s nest, and this can be seen in a park during the breeding season (spring to summer).
D. Brood parasitism in birds is an example of an interaction in which one species benefits and the other is harmed. — True. Brood parasitism is a form of parasitism. The parasite gains and the host loses the effort of raising another bird’s young.
Only statement B is incorrect, so the answer is Option (1).
NCERT Extract:
Population Interactions – “… In both parasitism and predation only one species benefits (parasite and predator, respectively) and the interaction is detrimental to the other species (host and prey, respectively).”
Population Interactions – “… Brood parasitism in birds is a fascinating example of parasitism in which the parasitic bird lays its eggs in the nest of its host and lets the host incubate them. During the course of evolution, the eggs of the parasitic bird have evolved to resemble the host’s egg in size and colour … Try to follow the movements of the cuckoo (koel) and the crow in your neighborhood park during the breeding season (spring to summer) and watch brood parasitism in action.”