Avian obligate brood parasites offer a unique opportunity to understand the neurobiological-

basis of species recognition. Because brood parasites are not raised in familial nests, young parasitic birds are not exposed to vital conspecific signals during critical developmental periods. Our lab compares auditory-evoked responses in the auditory forebrain of closely related blackbirds that are parasitic and non-parasitic to understand the way in which young parasites discern conspecifics from heterospecific hosts.