News Animals

Barn owlets share food with their younger siblings in exchange for grooming

Such cooperation is thought to be rare among the young of other birds

barn owls

In a barn owl nest, older siblings sometimes donate their meal to a younger, needier sibling, but only if the younger chick grooms the elder first, a study finds.

Chdwckvnstrsslhm/Flickr (CC BY-2.0)

By Pratik Pawar

- More than 2 years ago

If ever there were a competition to rank sibling relationships in the animal kingdom, barn owls would be close to the top.