THESE BABY BIRDS MIMIC TOXIC CATERPILLAR TO CONFUSE PREDATORS

Some freeloading animals are known to mimic the appearance of poisonous relatives, gaining the benefits of protection without having to expend the energy to actually make poisons.

 

Usually this occurs within a family of animals, but researchers have now discovered that baby cinereous mourner birds mimic a giant fuzzy caterpillar that occupies the same habitat, National Geographic reports. 

 

The bizarre insects deter predators with their irritating hairs, and it seems the birds have even learned to copy the way the caterpillar moves. As the chicks mature and can take care of themselves, they lose their flamboyant plumage and acquire a flat gray color.

Source
http://news.sciencemag.org/sifter/2014/12/baby-birds-mimic-toxic-caterpillar-to-escape-predators?rss=1

Read full article and watch video
http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/10/the-caterpillar-defense/

 

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