Cooperative Breeding Behaviors in the Hawaiian Stilt (Himantopus
mexicanus knudseni)
Abstract
Cooperative breeding, which is commonly characterized by non-breeding
individuals that assist others with reproduction, is common in avian
species. However, few accounts have been reported in Charadriiformes,
particularly island-nesting species. We present observations of
cooperative breeding behaviors in Hawaiian Stilts during the 2012-2020
nesting seasons on the Hawaiian islands of O‘ahu and Moloka‘i. We
describe three different behaviors that indicate cooperative breeding:
(1) nest sharing; (2) helper at the nest; (3) cooperative chick rearing.
Our observations suggest an ideal opportunity to examine the evolution
of cooperative breeding behaviors in the order Charadriiformes.