Cold-blooded mothers: Magpie parents seem to induce mortality of 'unwanted' chicks

Human parents often pay more attention to a few favored children among all of their offspring. It has already been known that birds do it too, and it may result in some baby birds dying in the nests. According to the recent discoveries published in Journal of Avian Biology, the top journal in the field of ornithology, one of our famous garden birds, magpies, also favor some of their nestlings, but in a fairly strange and unique manner.

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