BEING a downtrodden younger brother or sister could pay off in the long run – at least if you’re a bird. Contrary to what you might expect, blue-footed booby chicks that are bullied by an older sibling become more successful parents than their abusive siblings later in life.
In a typical two-chick brood, the first booby to hatch is always dominant, cornering a bigger share of food and parental attention, and viciously pecking the younger nestling as soon as it hatches. Often the junior chicks don’t survive the abuse, and those that do grow much more slowly than their older siblings…
