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The cowbird is not picky when it comes to selecting its hosts: it can choose from among 140 species with quite different eggs. Although the hosts can easily recognize the foreign egg, they frequently hatch it. The cowbird uses a trick to ensure that it doesn't have to adapt its eggs to resemble those of other species. By employing retaliation measures, it forces the step-parents to accept the egg.
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GalawebDesign/This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license: <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eastern_Phoebe-nest-Brown-headed-Cowbird-egg.jpg">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eastern_Phoebe-nest-Brown-headed-Cowbird-egg.jpg</a>
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