Egg burial in the ringneck dove (Streptopelia risoria): A potential laboratory model system for egg-rejection research?

In avian brood parasitism, parasites lay their eggs in the nests of hosts, and many hosts in the wild respond by eliminating or abandoning foreign eggs in their clutch. However, a limitation upon the study of proximate, especially physiological and experience-dependent cognitive mechanisms of egg rejection, has been the lack of a suitable model system in captivity. Here, we tested whether laboratory-kept ringneck doves respond to visually distinct egg types (through applying an ink treatment upon the doves' own eggs) by rejecting them.

A role for endogenous opiates in incubation behavior in ring neck doves (Streptopelia risoria).

Incubation of eggs is a critical component of parental care in avian species. However, we do not fully understand the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying this vital behavior. While prolactin is clearly involved, it alone cannot explain the fine-tuning of incubation behavior.