Simulation: Start with exotic animals

Chapter 24 The Big Rhododendron

Zhao Meng once heard an idiom called the dove occupying the magpie's nest.

Doves generally refer to turtle doves, a pigeon-like bird.

This kind of bird will drive away some birds that are smaller than them, and occupy the real estate of those small birds for reproduction.

From the perspective of human moral standards,

The behavior of this bird can be regarded as a very excessive behavior,
But in the animal world, there is a bird whose behavior is worse than the turtledove, and that is the cuckoo,

This bird does not nurse its own chicks,
Instead, the eggs are laid in the nests of other birds, and other birds hatch for them.

This phenomenon is called "parasitism" in biology

[In the first month, due to the size of the nest, the nest can no longer accommodate you, and you can only stand on the branch to receive feeding from the female bird. 】

At this time Zhao Meng was standing on the branch next to the bird's nest,

And a sparrow landed with a few locusts in its beak,

Zhao Meng instinctively opened his mouth,

The sparrow tilted its head, looking at the big mouth that could swallow itself,
There seemed to be some doubts in the little black bean-like eyes,
But in the end, the locusts were put into the huge mouth and then flew away from the nest, continuing to search for food for their "own" children.

"I have to leave the nest quickly, or this sparrow will die of exhaustion!"

"The cuckoo is such an uncomfortable bird!"

[In the second month, your wings are getting fuller, the female bird can no longer feed you, and you start to look for food alone! 】

Because there is no female bird to teach cuckoo chicks hunting skills,
Therefore, the only things Rhododendron can hunt are some hard-to-eat bugs in nature.Dangerous prey such as pine caterpillars and gypsy moths.

“It feels like eating spicy sticks!”

Zhao Meng already had sufficient experience in being a human being, so he quickly adapted to the cuckoo's feeding habits.

"From a human point of view, this cuckoo is a very beneficial bird!"

Zhao Meng looked at the pine caterpillars all over the tree, and secretly sighed in his heart.

[The third month, eating and growing]

Zhao Meng's body is still growing, and he feels that the breeding season of this bird is coming soon.

"Cuckoo's lifespan is not long, be careful this time and you should be able to pass the simulation once!"

Looking at the reflection in the water below, Zhao Meng secretly thought about something.

[Fourth month, eating, growing, avoiding predators]

As a small and medium-sized bird, Rhododendron faces many predators.

If it is the first time for a bird, facing those elusive predators, he may accidentally be poisoned.

But he has already imitated the tassel snipe, and has escaped the pursuit of the kestrel many times,

Facing the predation of these birds of prey, he has sufficient experience in dealing with them,
"The only thing to watch out for is the predators on the ground!"

In this cautious state of life,

Zhao Meng finally waited for the breeding season that he likes to hear and see.

[In the fifth month, you are mature and start to follow the sound to find the female bird! 】

"Cuckoo! Cuckoo!"

"Zigui! Zigui!"

The rhododendrons in the breeding season began to sing in the mountains and forests,
And their calls have evolved into two other aliases, cuckoo and cuckoo.

But this is just a name that human beings have imagined through their own cognition.

But when these voices reached Zhao Meng's ears, it had another meaning.

"Come on! It's time to lay eggs!"

It's like an old hen clucking non-stop after laying eggs.

Before the birds are ready to lay new eggs, they will also look for and call the male bird to give new life to their eggs.

And heard the call of the female bird,

Zhao Meng also responded a few times, which may be interpreted as:
"Don't worry, I'll come too!"

……

However, the call of the female bird is not only heard by the male bird,
When he arrived at the source of the sound, several male birds had already gathered here.

"Looks like we're going to go through another battle!"

Each male bird shows its own posture,
It's like a man in the gym seeing a beautiful woman flexing her muscles.

Zhao Meng is just an adult male bird,

Not as good as these old birds that have grown for a year or two,

But with human wisdom and a lot of inappropriate experience, he began to provoke the males around the female to fight with each other.

Taking advantage of the chaos,

He quietly approached the female bird.

……

The cuckoo gave life to the eggs for a long time, which lasted for 2 minutes.

It's not that Zhao Meng wants to delay time for some purpose,
It is because this parasitic bird is somewhat different from other birds in terms of physiological structure.

Zhao Meng didn't run away immediately like most males in nature after the incident.
He and the female bird still have an important task to complete.

He escorts the female and lays her eggs in the nests of other birds.

Zhao Meng and the female bird flew away from the forest,

And those male birds in the forest are still fighting...

[In the sixth month, the female bird successfully laid eggs into the gray magpie's nest. 】

Zhao Meng was letting the wind out on a branch beside him, observing the movement around him,
Zhao Meng disagreed with the female bird laying eggs in the gray magpie's nest.

The gray magpie is a small and medium-sized bird of the Corvidae family.
Although it does not have the extremely high IQ of crows.

But this kind of bird's IQ is not average, and Zhao Meng was a little worried that he would be found if he laid the eggs into the gray magpie's nest.

And just when Zhao Meng was secretly worried,
He noticed a gray figure flying in the distance,

He hastened to warn the female bird.When the female bird heard Zhao Meng's voice, she immediately left the gray magpie's nest,
Zhao Meng watched from a distance, and found that a green egg had appeared in the nest.

"go!"

Zhao Meng and the female bird hurriedly flew away from the gray magpie's territory,
Although much larger than the gray magpie, this corvid is as aggressive as its close relatives.

It took him a lot of effort just now to lure him away from the nest and let the female bird lay eggs in the gray magpie's nest.

"Hmm! Continue!"

In the animal kingdom, most organisms adopt the strategy of multiplying and multiplying,

Only in this way can the continuity of the species be maintained to the greatest extent.

Cuckoo birds also use this strategy,
They will lay eggs in different nests, which can ensure the success rate of breeding parasitism.

"Hey! The female bird has found a new nest!"

Zhao Meng followed the female bird and flew in one direction,
It is risky for a single female bird to quietly lay eggs into other birds' nests.

Therefore, the male bird is required to cover it aside,

Either harass or seduce, in short, the bird that keeps the nest cannot notice the situation in the nest.

"Hiss~ The lair it chose this time is..."

Zhao Meng looked in the direction the female bird was flying,

Saw an unknown tree covered in thorns,
The shape of the tree is not important,

The important thing is that there are many corpses of small animals strung on the thorns.

There are sparrows, small snakes, small mice, insects... Some corpses have dried up, and some have worms.

"Why does this female bird still fly upwards with a firm head? The birds in this place are not easy to mess with!"

(End of this chapter)