Zhao Meng had once heard of an idiom on a turtledove occupying a magpie's nest.
A turtledove is a bird that resembles a pigeon.
This bird would chase away some birds that were smaller than them and occupy the nests of those small birds for reproduction.
By the moral standards of humans, the behavior of this bird could be considered as very outrageous.
But in the animal world, there was a bird that behaved worse than a turtledove, and that was the cuckoo.
This bird does not nurse its own chicks.
Instead, it lays eggs in nests of other birds and lets them incubate them for it.
This phenomenon is referred to in biology as brood parasitism.
[In the first month, because you are too big, the nest can no longer accommodate you. You can only stand on a branch and be fed by the female bird.]
At this moment, Zhao Meng was standing on a branch beside the bird's nest.
A sparrow landed with a few locusts in its beak.
Zhao Meng instinctively opened his mouth.
The sparrow tilted its head and looked at the big mouth that could swallow it.
There seemed to be some doubt in its eyes that resembled little black beans.
However, in the end, it still put the locusts into the huge mouth and flew out of the nest to continue searching for food for its "own" child.
"I have to leave the nest quickly, or this sparrow will be exhausted to death!
"A bird like a cuckoo really makes one uncomfortable!"
[In the second month, your wings are gradually growing. The female bird can no longer feed you. You have begun to hunt alone!]
Because there are no females to teach juvenile cuckoos how to hunt, cuckoos could only hunt some of nature's insects that were tougher to chew, such as pine caterpillars and poisonous moths.
"I feel like I'm eating spicy strips!"
Zhao Meng was already very experienced in not being a human, so he adapted very quickly to the cuckoo's food habits.
"From a human's point of view, this cuckoo is completely a great beneficial bird!"
Zhao Meng looked at the pine caterpillars all over the tree and sighed in his heart.
[In the third month, you eat and grow.]
Zhao Meng's body was still growing. He felt that the breeding season of this bird was about to arrive.
"The lifespan of a cuckoo isn't long. If I'm careful this time, I should be able to pass the simulation in one go!"
Looking at the reflection in the water below, Zhao Meng thought to himself.
[In the fourth month, eating, growing, and escaping from the predators.]
As a small and medium-sized bird, cuckoos faced many predators.
If it was his first time as a bird, he might have been killed by those unpredictable predators.
However, he had already simulated the Tassel Sandpiper and dodged the kestrel's pursuit many times.
He had plenty of experience dealing with these birds of prey.
"The only thing I have to be careful of are the predators on the ground!"
In this cautious state of living, Zhao Meng finally waited for the breeding season which he was happy to see.
[In the fifth month, you've matured. You've begun to follow the sounds to find the female bird!]
"Cuckoo! Cuckoo!"
"Cuckoo! Cuckoo!"
Cuckoos in their breeding season began to chirp in the mountains.
Their calls evolved into two other aliases, the cuckoo and the koel.
However, these were only names which humans had come up with through their own understanding.
When these sounds reached Zhao Meng's ears, they had another meaning.
"Come quickly! The eggs are about to be laid!"
It was like an old hen clucking non-stop after laying an egg.
Birds also seek to call on males to give new life to their eggs before they prepare to conceive new eggs.
And hearing the cries of the female, Zhao Meng also responded with a few sounds, which when translated into human language, might be understood as, "Don't fret, I'm coming!"
…
However, he was not the only male bird to hear the female's cries.
By the time he arrived at the source of the sound, there were already several male birds gathered here.
"Looks like I'm going to experience another battle!"
Every male bird displayed its figure.
It was like a man in the gym showing off his muscles upon seeing a beautiful woman.
Zhao Meng was just a male bird that had just reached adulthood.
He was not as good as these old birds that have grown for a year or two.
However, with his human intelligence and a lot of experience as non-humans, he began to provoke the males around the female birds to fight with each other.
Taking advantage of the chaos, he quietly approached the female bird.
…
The process of giving life to an egg was very long. It lasted for a full two minutes.
It was not that Zhao Meng wanted to stall for time for some reason.
It was because this kind of brood parasitic bird was physiologically different from other birds.
After that, Zhao Meng did not immediately run away like most males in the natural world.
He and the female bird had an important task to complete next.
He had to escort the female to lay eggs in the nests of other birds.
Zhao Meng and the female bird flew out of the forest.
The male birds in the forest were still fighting…
[In the sixth month, the female bird successfully laid an egg in the gray magpie's nest.]
Zhao Meng was standing on a tree branch at the side, observing the surroundings.
Zhao Meng did not agree to the female bird laying the egg in the gray magpie's nest.
As a small and medium-sized bird of the crow family, the gray magpie, although it did not have the crow's extremely high intelligence, had an intelligence that was not ordinary. Zhao Meng was a little worried about being discovered when the egg was being placed in the nest of the gray magpie.
Just when Zhao Meng was secretly worried, he noticed a gray figure flying over from afar.
He hurriedly warned the female bird. The female bird immediately left the gray magpie's nest upon hearing Zhao Meng's voice.
Zhao Meng looked from afar and realized that a green egg had already appeared in the nest.
"Let's go!"
Zhao Meng and the female bird hurriedly flew away from the territory of the gray magpie.
Although he was much larger than the gray magpie, this bird of the crow family was as aggressive as its close relatives.
He had spent a lot of effort just now to lure it out of the nest and let the female bird lay the egg in the gray magpie's nest.
"Yes! I still have to continue!"
In the animal world, most creatures adopt the strategy of multiple births.
This way, the species' continuity could be maintained to the greatest extent.
The cuckoos use the same strategy.
They lay eggs in different nests, ensuring the success rate of brood parasitism.
"Eh! The female bird has discovered a new nest!"
Zhao Meng followed the female bird in a certain direction.
It was risky for a female bird to quietly lay an egg in another bird's nest.
Therefore, it needed the male bird to provide cover, harass or lure. In short, the male bird had to distract the bird guarding the nest from noticing the situation in the nest.
"Hiss ~ The nest it chose this time is…"
Zhao Meng looked in the direction where the female bird was flying.
He saw an unknown tree with thorns all over its trunk.
The tree's appearance was not important.
Most importantly, there were many small animal corpses on the thorns of this tree.
There were sparrows, small snakes, mice, insects… Some of the corpses had already dried up, and some had even given rise to insects.
"Why is this female still flying up? The birds in this place are not to be trifled with!"