Bird's Patterns of Chick Development -- Page 4

Precocial development does, however, impose some limitations. It is well suited mainly to species that nest on the ground and feed on foods that can be taken by chicks on the ground or on water. For many songbird species that forage on insects in treetops, or for hawks and owls, which kill relatively large prey, precocial chicks would still be unable to feed themselves. Furthermore, precocial chicks must accomplish much more development than altricial chicks while still in the egg, which means that females must lay large eggs and spend more time incubating them in a vulnerable, ground nest site. Altricial birds shift more of their parental care effort into the post-hatching stage. Many precocial waterfowl chicks are even better equipped to avoid predators because they can swim almost from birth.

Everyone has seen baby songbirds in the nest with eyes closed and mouths open. The adults of common backyard birds have to feed their young. Ducklings and goslings, on the other hand, hatch with their eyes open and already have feathers because they will soon have to feed themselves. Remarkably, young waterfowl spend only about a day in the nest.