offspring (usually birds) that are hatched successively, one at a time, (rather than simultaneously, as in a synchronous brood). In some egrets, for example, eggs hatch 1 or 2 days apart - as opposed to all together. This gives a growth advantage to the first-hatched chick. Often therefore, older chicks will attack young siblings to the point of killing them. In terms of parental efficiency in feeding chicks and average levels of chick survival, producing asynchronous broods is a better evolutionary strategy than producing synchronous broods, and ensures more chicks ultimately survive.
ASYNCHRONOUS BROOD: "A bird that is part of an asynchronous brood is either a few days older or a few days younger than siblings, that are part of the same batch of eggs, but born at different times. "
