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The female cowbird may continue to observe this nest after laying eggs. Some bird species have evolved the ability to detect such parasitic eggs, and may reject them by pushing them out of their nests, but the female cowbird has been observed to attack and destroy the remaining eggs of such birds as a consequence, dissuading further removals. [8]
The brown-headed cowbird is an obligate brood parasite; it lays its eggs in the nests of other small passerines (perching birds), particularly those that build cup-like nests. The brown-headed cowbird eggs have been documented in nests of at least 220 host species, including hummingbirds and raptors.
Female hooded orioles lay a clutch of 3–5 eggs. The eggs are generally white, but can range into a pale blue with darker splotches. The eggs are incubated for 12–14 days, and the nestlings take about 14 days to fledge. This species is also commonly parasitized by the brown-headed cowbird and the bronzed cowbird. [9]
The screaming cowbird frequently parasitizes its main host, the baywing, during the pre-laying period. [20] Screaming cowbirds lay 31% of their eggs before the first baywing egg but most of the eggs laid are ejected, and often within 24 hours. [29] By ejecting parasitic eggs with their feet, baywings can reduce the parasitic egg load by 75%. [30]
About 30 days after the first eggs hatch, the female painted bunting usually lays a second brood. [13] Nests are often parasitized by cowbirds . [ 13 ] Common predators at the nest of eggs, young, and brooding females are large snakes , including coachwhip snakes , eastern kingsnakes , eastern racers and black rat snakes . [ 13 ]
If the eggs happen to hatch, the parents will immediately start feeding them fish and keeping them warm. If the eggs don't hatch, the parents will slowly start leaving the eggs a little bit at a time.
The shiny cowbird's diet consists mainly of insects, other arthropods [4] and seeds, and they have been recorded foraging for grains in cattle troughs. [2] Like most other cowbirds, it is an obligate brood parasite, laying its eggs in the nests of many other bird species such as the rufous-collared sparrow. [5]
Famous bald eagle mates Jackie and Shadow watched closely as their first chicks began to hatch Monday in Big Bear Valley, California, after nearly three years without successful hatching.