Nest prospecting brown-headed cowbirds 'parasitize' social information when the value of personal information is lacking.

Brood parasites face considerable cognitive challenges in locating and selecting host nests for their young. Here, we test whether female brown-headed cowbirds, , could use information acquired from observing the nest prospecting patterns of conspecifics to influence their own patterns of nest selection. In laboratory-based experiments, we created a disparity in the amount of personal information females had about the quality of nests.

'Sociability' affects the intensity of mate-choice copying in female guppies, Poecilia reticulata.

Selecting a quality mate can involve acquiring and accessing large amounts of information; information that can be obtained either independently or socially. One means of learning about mates socially is to attend to other members of one's sex and copy their mate choices. It is possible however that not all individuals of a species benefit equally from, or are equally effective at, copying.