Differences in growth parameters between non-evictor (chicks raised alone, host eggs removed) and evictor (host eggs left and evicted) cuckoo chicks in great reed warbler nests.

Data from a priori defined phases of development were analyzed separately. Growth was estimated as deviations from growth patterns of evictor chicks randomly sampled in the study population (see Methods). Effect size (mean ± SE) is the difference between the growth parameter of non-evictor and evictor groups (i.e., positive effect = greater growth of non-evictor chicks). Sample sizes for respective periods are given as number of nests/chicks and measurements and df refers to denominator degrees of freedom from GLMM models controlling for chick identity and age.