When I first spotted a small flock of dark-colored birds this past Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I thought that they were blackbirds of maybe grackles. When the light illuminated them better, however, I could see that they were two-toned—their heads were brown and their bodies were black. I wasn’t sure what they were, but their distinctive color pattern made it easy to find them in my bird identification guide as Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater).
I found the name “cowbird” to be a bit strange and wondered if perhaps they mooed like cows. After all, catbirds are reported to make sounds like those of a cat. As far as I can determine, though, they were called “cowbirds” simply because this species was often seen near cattle.
As I was poking about on the internet trying to learn more about this species, I was shocked to learn that cowbirds do not make their own nests. Where then do they lay their eggs? The Cornell Lab of Ornithology website explained this phenomenon as follows:
“The Brown-headed Cowbird is North America’s most common “brood parasite.” A female cowbird makes no nest of her own, but instead lays her eggs in the nests of other bird species, who then raise the young cowbirds. Brown-headed Cowbird lay eggs in the nests of more than 220 species of birds.”
I have not yet seen it, but apparently it is not unusual to see parents of one species busily trying to feed a baby cowbird that hatched in its nest.
The first two shots below show adult male cowbirds and the third image looks to be a juvenile cowbird or possibly a female
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 