Data from: Multimodal mimicry of hosts in a radiation of parasitic finches

Brood parasites use the parental care of others to raise their young and
sometimes employ mimicry to dupe their hosts. The brood-parasitic finches
of the genus Vidua are a textbook example of the role of
imprinting in sympatric speciation. Sympatric speciation is
thought to occur in Vidua because their mating
traits and host preferences are strongly influenced by their early host
environment. However, this alone may not be sufficient to
isolate parasite lineages, and divergent ecological
adaptations may also be required to prevent hybridisation collapsing
incipient species. Using pattern recognition software and classification
models, we provide quantitative evidence
that Vidua exhibit specialist mimicry of their
grassfinch hosts, matching the patterns, colours and sounds of their
respective host’s nestlings. We also provide qualitative evidence of
mimicry in postural components of Vidua begging.
Quantitative comparisons reveal small discrepancies between parasite and
host phenotypes, with parasites sometimes exaggerating their host’s
traits. Our results support the hypothesis that behavioural imprinting on
hosts has not only enabled the origin of new Vidua species, but also set
the stage for the evolution of host-specific, ecological adaptations.