#molothrus

[herpsandbirds]

could we get some love for brown-headed cowbirds? i know they get a bad rep for being brood parasites but every time i see one i remember how excited i was to successfully identify one on my first birding walk + i think they’re truly beautiful

A lot of people have a visceral and negative response to brood parasites (as do i tbh), but this is a delightful little bird.

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater), male, family Icteridae, order Passeriformes, WI, USA

photograph by Jack and Holly Bartholmai

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater), male, family Icteridae, order Passeriformes, MI, USA

photograph by Andrew Simon

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater), male calling and displaying to female, family Icteridae, order Passeriformes, MI, USA

photograph by Andrew Simon

[na-bird-of-the-day]

BOTD: Bronzed Cowbird

Photo: Doug Greenberg

"Larger than the Brown-headed Cowbird and mostly restricted to the Southwest, this species is another brood parasite. It may be more specialized in its choice of 'hosts,' and is thought to have seriously affected populations of some species, such as Hooded Orioles in southern Texas. The Bronzed Cowbird has expanded its range in our area during the last century; in Arizona, where it is now common, it was unrecorded before 1909."

- Audubon Field Guide

[northerlyy]

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater), juvenile, taken May 27, 2024, in Georgia, US

Fledgeling season is so fun when there's a bird bath because you get to see baby birds have pool parties! This particular individual injured its leg in some way and lived exclusively at our feeders for weeks, eating seeds off the ground and begging for handouts from any adult bird who got close lol. Surprisingly, it didn't get picked off and its leg ended up healing, so we got to see it reach adulthood with its siblings!

[fatchance]

Recent birds: Bronzed cowbird / tordo ojos rojos (Molothrus aeneus) at Santa Rita Lodge, in Madera Canyon, Santa Cruz County, Arizona.

[podartists]

Cyanocitta cristata | Molothrus ater | Lanius ludovicianus | Euphagus cyanocephalus | Quiscalus quiscula versicolor (aeneus)

Plate XVII | Die Nordamerikanische Vogelwelt (1891)

[local-bird-lover]

[ID: Image taken of a backyard deck with a bunch of birds perched on the railing and on the bird feeders. In the hexagon feeder behind the sunflower flag is a male brown-headed cowbird that is slightly obscured by the flag. On the railing, a female cowbird that is a light brown with a darker grayish brown on the wings and two more male cowbirds with brown head feathers and black feathers down the rest of their bodies. A male cowbird is perched upon the hook that is holding up the bird feeder to the left, potentially waiting for a spot for it to feed on the seeds as well. On said bird feeder, two more male cowbirds are sat, eating out of the dispense tray of the feeder. /End ID]

A picture of some brown-headed cowbirds on my railing. Was really happy to see them gathering around to feed.

[void-dragon4]

There’s also a cowbird mafia

Today I saw a pic of a baby cowbird next 2 its nest "parent" and it was so much bigger!!!!! Which is the sort of thing that gets normal people upset about the injustice of nest parasitism but makes *me* worry if baby cowbirds get bird dysmorphia

[okbirdphotos]

Brown-headed Cowbird

Virginia, March 2024.

[tenth-sentence]

Mr. Swainson has well remarked,¹ that with the exception of the Molothrus pecoris, to which must be added the M. niger, the cuckoos are the only birds which can be called truly parasitical; namely, such as 'fasten themselves, as it were, on another living animal, whose animal heat brings their young into life, whose food they live upon, and whose death would cause theirs during the period of infancy.'

1 Magazine of Zoology and Botany, vol. i. p. 217.

"Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries Visited During the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle Round the World, 1832-36" - Charles Darwin

[birdirectory]

shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) by Iêda Teixeira

[whats-in-a-sentence]

Cowbirds commonly invite birds of other species to preen them, but occasionally an interspecies encounter includes homosexual mounting when a House Sparrow is involved.

"Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity" - Bruce Bagemihl

[herpsandbirds]

Bronzed Cowbird (Molothrus aeneus), male, family Icteridae, order Passeriformes, Chiapas, México

photograph by Azucena Guerra

[na-bird-of-the-day]

BOTD: Brown-headed Cowbird

Photo: Miki Jourdan

"Centuries ago this bird probably followed bison herds on the Great Plains, feeding on insects flushed from the grass by the grazers. Today it follows cattle, and occurs abundantly from coast to coast. Its spread has represented bad news for other songbirds: Cowbirds lay their eggs in nests of other birds. Heavy parasitism by cowbirds has pushed some species to the status of 'endangered' and has probably hurt populations of some others."

- Audubon Field Guide

[mundaoincrivel]

Chupim é um Pássaro Parasita de Ninhos, e Outras Aves Com Esse Comportamento!

Chupim é um pássaro parasita de ninhos, ele é uma ave que bota os ovos no ninho de outras espécies. Tico-tico e corruíras são as vítimas mais conhecidas desse comportamento! O filhote do chupim cresce rápido, tem uma fome insaciável e muitas vezes fica maior que os pais adotivos! Mas esse comportamento parasita do Chupim gera muitas dúvidas. São todas as aves que aceitam filhotes adotivos? 

Chupim é um pássaro parasita de ninhos, como a fêmea sabe qual é o ninho certo?

Essas aves enganadas não percebem que tem um ovo diferente no ninho? E a fêmea do Chupim? Como sabe qual é o ninho certo e o momento certo para invadir e deixar os ovos? Todas essas questões você vai descobrir neste vídeo! E atendendo a pedido de vocês, hoje vamos falar do curioso comportamento do chupim e de outras aves parasitas. E olha que existem muitas curiosidades em torno dessas aves. 

[occasionallybirds]

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)

May 7, 2024

John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Tinicum, Pennsylvania

[alcnfr]

A Brown-Headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) splashing in the hanging birdbath...