Helper contribution in the cooperatively breeding laughing Kookaburra: feeding young is no laughing matter

摘要

I studied the contributions of individuals to incubation and nestling feeding in a population of cooperatively breeding laughing kookaburras, Dacelo novaeguineae. In most cooperatively breeding birds where nest success in limited by nestling starvation, related helpers increase the overall level of provisioning to the nest, thus boosting the production of nondescendent kin.