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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 now placed in the genus Molothrus that was introduced by English naturalist William Swainson in 1832 with the brown-headed cowbird as the type species. [6] [7] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek mōlos meaning "struggle" or "battle" with thrōskō meaning "to sire" or "to impregnate".
The shiny cowbird is an obligate brood parasite, meaning that adults will lay their eggs in the nests of other species and their offspring rely entirely on their hosts for parental care. [16] They are generalists, and have about 250 different host species. [ 2 ]
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.
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) Corvidae and Icteridae, at least 12 species [7] Bronzed ...
The screaming cowbird also parasitizes the nests of the chopi blackbird (Gnorimopsar chopi) [12] [13] and the brown-and-yellow marshbird (Pseudoleistes virescens). [14] [15] [16] Parasitism of these other two species generally occurs in areas where baywings are absent but can also occur in its presence. [17]
The bronze-brown cowbird, which is restricted to the Caribbean coast of Colombia, was formerly considered to be an isolated population of this species. [3] The male bronzed cowbird is 20 cm (7.9 in) long and weighs 68 g (2.4 oz), with green-bronze, gloss-black plumage. His eyes are red in breeding season and brown otherwise.
In this list of birds by common name 11,278 extant and recently extinct (since 1500) bird species are recognised. [1] Species marked with a "†" are extinct. Contents