Crèche (zoology)

As a Crèche in zoology refers to a collection of pups derived from different parents. The term has been adopted from the French referred to there nursery or crib.

The information gathered in a Crèche young animals in this group are either completely unaccompanied adult animals or there are only a few parents in the collection of pups present. Crèching behavior is particularly characteristic of colony- nesting birds that have to travel long distances to acquire food. The parent birds are forced to leave their young for long periods alone. The young birds then concentrate in places that offer them better protection from weather conditions or from access by predators.

Penguins and flamingos are among the most bird species in which Crèching behavior is particularly prevalent. The prospect of a Crèche young birds can be impressive. For Pink flamingos in the Camargue was in 2000 a Crèche with 14,500, 15,300 and one in Lake Urmia in 1973 one counted in the Laguna de Fuente de Piedra in 1998 with 20,000 young birds. Due to the large number of young birds gathered one went long on the assumption that the returning parent birds feeding any young bird with food. This has been largely disproved during the second half of the 20th century. Parents find birds based on Call within the collection and feed their offspring only this.

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