ABSTRACT
Cooperative breeding is widely reported across the animal kingdom. In birds, it is hypothesised to be most common in altricial species (where chicks are dependent on parental care in the nest after hatching), with few described cases in precocial species (where chicks are more independent immediately after hatching). However, cooperative breeding may also be more difficult to detect in precocial species, and therefore has been overlooked. In this study, we investigate whether vulturine guineafowl (Acryllium vulturinum)—which have precocial young—breed cooperatively and, if so, how help is distributed among group members. Using data collected from colour-banded individuals in one social group of vulturine guineafowl over three different breeding seasons, we found that multiple females can simultaneously attempt to breed within a group. Broods had close adult associates and most of these associates exhibited four distinct cooperative breeding behaviours: babysitting, within-group chick guarding, covering the chicks under the wings and calling the chicks for food. Further, we found that helping is significantly male-biased, that helpers provided most of the care to each brood, that breeding females differed in how much help they received, and that helpers pay a foraging cost when providing care. Our results confirm that vulturine guineafowl are cooperative breeders, which they combine with an unusual plural-breeding social system. Our study also adds to growing evidence that cooperative breeding may be more widespread among species with precocial young than previously thought, thereby providing a counterpoint to the altriciality-cooperative breeding hypothesis.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
