Brood parasitism and egg mimicry on Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler (Cettia fortipes) by Lesser Cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus)

Nest fate of Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler (Cettia fortipes) was conducted in breeding seasons from 1999 to 2009 in Kuankuoshui Natural Reserve, Guizhou province. Predation rate, parasitism rate, hatching success, nesting success and reproductive success were surveyed and egg color was quantified using spectrophotometer. Principal component analysis, reflectance spectrum and Robinson Project were used to analyze the egg color of bush warbler and egg mimicry of Lesser Cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus) in parasitized nests. Our results indicated that the Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler suffered from high predation rate and relatively high parasitism rate of 49.26% and 9.18%, respectively. Reflectance analysis showed that the hue and chroma of Lesser Cuckoo eggs were highly mimetic but the egg brightness and ultraviolet reflectance were different from the bush warbler.