A scoundrel of a bird
April 16th, 2009
I found another singing Brown-Headed Cowbird at Fletcher Wildlife Garden, this time in their backyard garden and with camera in hand (me, not the bird.)
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There is also such a thing as a cowbird mafia. Naturalists have observed cases where a female will return to where she laid her egg. If the egg is still there, all is well. If it isn't, she trashes the nest.
Dastardly birds, really. But pretty.
April 16th, 2009
I found another singing Brown-Headed Cowbird at Fletcher Wildlife Garden, this time in their backyard garden and with camera in hand (me, not the bird.)
1680x1050 wallpaper
"By human standards, the female cowbird is not only a born sneak but a shiftless parasite as well. She builds no nest of her own but goes snooping about the shrubbery until she locates one of another bird smaller and weaker than herself; she lays her egg in it and goes merrily on her way, never bothering to call around to see how her offspring is faring under the care of its foster parents. And how does it get along? It gets along far too well, for being larger than its fellow nestlings it gluttonously grabs most of the food brought by the victimized parents. Because of its unfair advantage, the baby cowbird is sometimes the only nestling to survive, the weaker ones being suffocated or pushed out of the nest as the little monster gradually takes over the entire space."
- http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/nature/nsbirds/bns0396.htm
There is also such a thing as a cowbird mafia. Naturalists have observed cases where a female will return to where she laid her egg. If the egg is still there, all is well. If it isn't, she trashes the nest.
Dastardly birds, really. But pretty.
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