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The northern mockingbird is the state bird of Arkansas. This list of birds of Arkansas includes species documented in the U.S. state of Arkansas and accepted by the Arkansas Audubon Society (AAS). As of January 2022, there were 424 species included in the official list. [1]
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 (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.
For species found in the 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) used in the list are those of the AOS, the recognized scientific authority on the taxonomy and nomenclature of North and Middle American birds.
It is social and commonly seen in small groups. Unlike the "true" cowbirds in the genus Molothrus, this species is not a brood parasite. In contrast, the screaming cowbird is a brood parasite of the grayish baywing, and while adult screaming cowbirds are overall blackish, juvenile screaming cowbirds closely resemble grayish baywings.
One study found 22.5% of baywing eggs were punctured by the screaming cowbird. [11] Screaming cowbirds can distinguish between their eggs and those of other species and laboratory trials have shown that screaming cowbirds will puncture shining cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) eggs more frequently than their own. [22]
Many of these species are separated from Arkansas by the Mississippi River, and may be common in the bordering regions of Mississippi and Tennessee. Other species may be hypothesized to occur in the state but are not confirmed. Some have gene flow and form species hybrids in the state with a more widespread species, but purebred members of one ...
Some cowbird species engage in brood parasitism; females lay their eggs in the nests of other species, in a similar fashion to some cuckoos. [3] Some species of icterid have become agricultural pests; for example, red-winged blackbirds in the United States are considered the worst vertebrate pests on some crops, such as rice. [6]