parental care

In biology, the time and energy spent by a parent in order to rear its offspring to maturity. Among animals, it ranges from the simple provision of a food supply for the hatching young at the time the eggs are laid (for example, many wasps) to feeding and protection of the young after hatching or birth, as in birds and mammals. In the more social species, parental care may include the teaching of skills – for example, female cats teach their kittens to hunt.

A relative of the crow, the white-winged chough (Chorcorax mela norhamphos), is unable to rear its young without help. At least four adults are required to raise a bird to the age when it fledges.