Shared paternity among non-relatives is a result of an egalitarian mating system in a communally breeding bird, the pukeko

With extra-pair paternity now known to be common among many species of birds, it is not surprising that males of most species exhibit behaviour that minimizes the risk of losing paternity. The most common form of paternity assurance is mate guarding whereby the male closely follows his mate during her fertile period and attempts to prevent other males from copulating with her. Even in communal or cooperative breeding species where two or more …