Brood parasitism

Brood parasitism is a behavioral pattern and a form of parasitism in which an animal relies on another individual, of the same or a different species, to raise its young, typically by mimicking the host's own eggs. Among birds, cuckoos, cowbirds and honeyguides are classic brood parasites, and the brown-headed cowbird alone is known to exploit around 221 host species. The strategy also occurs outside birds: the catfish Synodontis multipunctatus parasitizes mouthbrooding cichlid fish in Lake Tanganyika, its eggs hatching first so the young catfish can consume the host's own fry, and cuckoo bees and cuckoo bumblebees parasitize the nests and colonies of other bees. The strategy lets the parasitic parent avoid the costs of building a nest and raising its own offspring by shifting those burdens onto an unsuspecting host. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/