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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.
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.
A shiny cowbird chick (left) being fed by a rufous-collared sparrow Eastern phoebe nest with one brown-headed cowbird egg (at bottom left) Shiny cowbird parasiting masked water tyrant in Brazil. Brood parasitism is a subclass of parasitism and phenomenon and behavioural pattern of animals that rely on others to raise their young.
English: Brood parasitism by cowbirds can sometimes include multiple cowbird eggs. In this nest, only one of the host eggs remains (smaller egg with distinct band of reddish-brown streaks), the rest belonging to brown-headed cowbirds
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 ...
Shiny cowbird: Molothrus bonariensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) At least 102 species [7] Brown-headed cowbird: Molothrus ater (Boddaert, 1783) At least 174 species [7] Screaming cowbird: Molothrus rufoaxillaris Cassin, 1866: Most commonly Agelaioides badius, occasionally four other species [d] [8] Giant cowbird: Molothrus oryzivorus (Gmelin, JF, 1788)
The nest is an open cup with a mud base and lined with moss and grass, built in crevice in a rock or man-made site; two to six eggs are laid. Both parents feed the young and usually raise two broods per year. The eastern phoebe is occasionally host to the nest-parasitic brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater).
Two of the five Brown-headed Cowbird eggs produced fledglings. The study did not determine if there was a difference in nest success between parasitized and nonparasitized nests. [51] In West Virginia, only 3 of 41 eastern towhee nests were parasitized by the Brown-headed Cowbird.