Brown-headed Cowbird
Molothrus ater
This bird has been reportedly found in the following regions:
Auburn, Alabama
Mesa, Arizona
North Little Rock, Arkansas
Logan Lake, British Columbia
Highland, California
Klamath River, California
San Jose, California
Brookfield, Connecticut
Daytona Beach, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Melbourne, Florida
Santa Rosa Beach, Florida
Atlanta, Georgia
Carrollton, Georgia
Jekyll Island, Georgia
Algonquin, Illinois
Anna, Illinois
Cherry Valley, Illinois
Westchester, Illinois
Coatesville, Indiana
Popejoy, Iowa
Hebron, Kentucky
Irvine, Kentucky
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Traverse City, Michigan
Hamel, Minnesota
Marietta, Mississippi
Cole Camp, Missouri
Conway, Missouri
El Dorado Springs, Missouri
Jackson, Missouri
Saint Louis, Missouri
Greenville, New Hampshire
Elephant Butte, New Mexico
Hamburg, New York
Himrod, New York
Round Top, New York
Yonkers, New York
Concord, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Chillicothe, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Corning, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Lebanon, Ohio
Oak Harbor, Ohio
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Edisto Island, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Clarksville, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Austin, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas(2 reports)
Houston, Texas
Keller, Texas
Orange, Texas
Spring, Texas
Broad Run, Virginia
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Penhook, Virginia
Portsmouth, Virginia
Walkerton, Virginia
Shelton, Washington
Skokomish, Washington
Lander, Wyoming
show all
ManhattanJewess
coriaceous
It's also true that we've eliminated much of the deep woodland in which songbirds can nest but cowbirds don't.
Chillybean
I cannot say I've seen any Cowbird bully other birds at the feeders, but we do not encourage the females to hang around during nesting season, but if she doesn't lay eggs here, she'll lay them elsewhere. At least we've never seen a Cowbird interested in the nesting boxes or Barn Swallow nests we've monitored.
I admit the mal... read more
hippigirl63
interestingly, this bird was once called a buffalo bird. it developed the practice of leaving its eggs in other birds' nests out of necessity. since the buffalo, which the birds depended on, moved continually, the buffalo birds could not remain on a nest long enough to hatch and raise their own young. when the buffalo were replaced by cattle, the re-named cow bird continued its old ways.
tlm1
Mila1
plantladylin