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Brown-headed cowbird call. The brown-headed cowbird is typical for an icterid in general shape, but is distinguished by its finch-like head and beak and smaller size. The adult male is iridescent black in color with a brown head. The adult female is slightly smaller and is dull grey with a pale throat and very fine streaking on the underparts.
The brown-headed cowbird produces very rapid clusters of notes that alternate in frequency, with the right syrinx producing the high frequency notes and the left syrinx producing low frequency notes. The entire cluster is sung during a single respiratory expiration, called "pulsatile expiration", in which no inflow of air occurs between notes.
The genus was introduced by English naturalist William Swainson in 1832 with the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) as the type species. [2] [3] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek mōlos, meaning "struggle" or "battle", with thrōskō, meaning "to sire" or "to impregnate". [4]
Kirtland's warbler is highly susceptible to nest parasitism by this cowbird. [30] Brown-headed cowbirds feed mostly on seeds from grasses and weeds, with some crop grains. Insects such as grasshoppers and beetles, often caught as cows and horses stir them into movement, make up about a quarter of a cowbird's diet.
Male frogs typically approach higher frequency sounds more readily than lower frequencies, likely because the frog producing the sound is assessed to be a smaller, less dangerous competitor. [ 25 ] In territorial birds, males increase song production rate when neighbouring males encroach on their territory. [ 22 ]
Brown-headed cowbird In brown-headed cowbirds male displays were less intense when directed toward females than when directed to other males. The intense displays between males are most likely used to demonstrate condition and dominance status, and sometimes these displays escalate into physical fights in which the less dominant male is injured ...
The male brown thrasher may have the largest song ... One of the natural nuisances is the parasitic brown-headed cowbird ... Brown Thrasher Bird Sound at Florida ...
Song sparrows' nests are parasitized by the brown-headed cowbird. The cowbirds' eggs closely resemble song sparrows' eggs, although the cowbirds' eggs are slightly larger. Song sparrows recognize cowbirds as a threat and attack the cowbirds when they are near the nest. There is some evidence that this behavior is learned rather than instinctual ...