Mar 14, 2008 — See Asian News International
Contrary to a common perception that baby birds that are laid before their siblings have a better chance of survival, a new study at UNC has shown that the first-laid eggs are in fact least likely to hatch at all. Keith Sockman, an assistant biology professor, along with his team, studied Lincoln's sparrows in a remote stretch of Colorado's San Juan Mountains for three breeding seasons. "I believe this is the first study to follow siblings from laying through fledgling and that demonstrates that the effect of laying order on hatching is very different from its effect post-hatching," Sockman said.
