Dominant nestlings displaying female-like melanin coloration behave altruistically in the barn owl

When competing over parental resources, young animals may be typically selfish to the point of siblicide. This suggests that limited parental resources promote the evolution of sibling competition rather than altruistic or cooperative behaviours. In striking contrast, we show here that in 71% of experimental three-chick broods, nestling barn owls, Tyto alba, gave food to […]