asynchronous brood
offspring (usually birds) that hatch successively (rather than simultaneously, as in a synchronous brood). In cattle egrets, for example, eggs hatch 1 or 2 days apart, giving a growth advantage to the first-hatched chick. Often, older chicks will attack young siblings to the point of killing them (see siblicide). However, in terms of parental efficiency in feeding chicks and mean chick survival, producing asynchronous broods is a better strategy than producing synchronous broods.