Nidicolous


A nidicolous animal is an animal that stays at its birthplace for a long time because it depends on the parents for food, protection, and the learning of survival skills. They are the opposite of nidifugous species, which leave their parents more quickly and survive independently.
Two other terms are also used by scientists for related developmental phenomena: altricial and precocial. Although there is much overlap between altricial and nidicolous species, the terms are not identical. All altricial animals are nidicolous by necessity, but an animal may be nidicolous, such as staying at the nest, even if it is precocial and fully capable of leaving if needed. Examples of precocious but nidicolous species include many gulls and terns.
Examples of nidicolous species are most mammals and many species of birds. The majority of nidicolous animals are altricial. During the life span, the brain of a nidicolous animal expands 8–10 times its initial size; in nidifugous animals, from 1.5 to 2.5 times.