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The brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) is a small, obligate brood parasitic icterid native to temperate and subtropical North America. It is a permanent resident in the southern parts of its range; northern birds migrate to the southern United States and Mexico in winter, returning to their summer habitat around March or April.
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.
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]
The behavior of the brown-headed cowbird causes range expansion at the expense of other birds such as warblers, sparrows, and vireos. The efforts required for raising the cowbird chick often exhaust the parent and lead to either the death of the parent or the death of the other chicks within the nest, thus decreasing the chances of reproduction ...
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.
Choose from an Eastern Bluebird, a Downy Woodpecker, a Baltimore Oriole, and a Brown-headed Cowbird. Kansas is the perfect opportunity to add some breadth to your birding journal. 21. Michigan
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 ...
Brood parasitism is a rare behavior in which about 1% of all 10,000 birds in the world exhibit. [16] The birds that display this behavior are 57 species of cuckoos, 5 species of cowbirds, 17 species of honeyguides, 20 species of African finches, and one duck called the black headed duck. [16]