The evolutionary history of the avian genus Chrysococcyx

The genus Chrysococcyx is one of a number of genera of cuckoos that are brood parasites in their reproductive habits. Their phylogeny, differentiation, dispersal, and ethology -- all of which are reviewed in a comparative, yet detailed, way for the first time in this paper -- are of interest in themselves not only as a special "case history" in the development of parasitism, but also for the light they throw on the broad, general problems of evolution of parasitic reproduction in the cuckoos as a family and in birds in general.