Siblicie (attributed to behavioural ecologist Doug Mock), the death of an individual by its close relatives may occur directly between siblings or indirectly across the parent-offspring relationship and is seen to have beneficial indirect results for the genetic viability of a population or direct results for the recipient individuals. Cattle Egrets, Bubulcus ibis, exhibit asynchronous hatching and androgen loading (in the first two eggs) in its 3-egg clutch. This results in more aggressive chicks with the first having a developmental head start. If food is scarce the third chick often dies or is killed by the larger sibs and so parental effort is better distributed between the remaining chicks, more likely to survive to reproduce. Thus the investment in the older chicks is safeguarded for longest. Why do adults lay three instead of just two eggs? This is possibly either due to the unforeseen possibility of food abundance or the chance of sterility in one egg, something suggested by studies into the Common Grackle, Quiscalus quiscula.