Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus

Male Cowbird

If you were a bird, you wouldn’t want to become friends with this Brown-head Cowbird. No sir-ree, Buckaroo. It would exploit you to no end! Cowbirds are users and movers, especially when it comes to moving with cattle. They received their name due to the fact they feast on bugs flushed from the grasses of grazing cattle and buffalo. They know how to get an easy and cheap meal.

Brown-headed Cowbirds are aves belonging to the genus Molothrus in the family Icteridae. They are brood parasitic New World birds. (Parasitic involves taking advantage of the hospitality of another or others without providing any proper return. Birds of certain species, known as hosts, will raise the young of other birds—including Cowbirds.)

Brown-headed “Cowgirl” birds will take hosting advantage of songbirds by laying eggs in their nests, which enables them to remain mobile and secured to a herd of cattle. No female Cowbird has been known to build a nest and brood her own young, therefore this appears to be the original way God created her. She believes her only duty is to place her eggs in a nest where her chicks will receive proper care. Cowbird mothers seem to detect that small songbirds are quite receptive. Usually she will implement small Sparrow nests—placing one egg in each nest.

To explain the process, the calculating female Cowbird will locate a potential host by perching in a location that has a great view during the early morning hours. She will observe the behavior of possible host females that are building nests. Acting the predator part, she will follow an unsuspecting bird directly to her nest. Once the nest location is disclosed, the devious Cowbird returns during the egg-laying period of the female, and deposits her own egg in the nest. 60-70% of the time, the Cowbird removes one of the host eggs before laying her own egg. This is possibly to ensure that the host does not notice a different number of eggs present in the nest, or to ensure that the Cowbird egg receives proper incubation. Many gracious benevolent wingers will take care of the eggs and newborn of the Brown-headed Cowgirl birds. They will raise a Cowbird like their own. Needless to say, it does look very comical when a parasitic chick grows and can barely remain seated on the tiny nest of a Sparrow or other songbird. It also appears extremely strange to see a small songbird feeding a large Cowbird or other ample parasitic bird. God has manufactured so many things in creation to that makes us smile in disbelief.

Some birds refuse to be accommodating hostesses and hosts and will not put up with brazen “Cowgirl” birds barging into their home. They set forth a definite no: 

Unquestionably, we can see why Brown-headed Cowbirds are considered parasites. Here is a clip of a Cowgirl bird removing the young from a nest. She owns the heart of a mass murderer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0juLL2GXYNo Why she would do this is beyond me. Maybe she was desperate and this was the only active nest she could find for her egg. Not that I am excusing her, mind you. We can easily observe the fact they do not own a compassionate heart for young developing life.

Brown-headed Cowbird chicks have been successfully reared by over 150 host species, with songbirds comprising the majority of hosts. Unfortunately, since the Cowbird chicks mature quickly, they often consume most of the food the host brings for the entire brood. Sadly, starvation often kills the host’s chicks. In some cases, a Cowbird youth will use its large size to push the other chicks out of the nest. Such callous behavior has reduced the population of songbirds.

Indians called the Brown-headed Cowbird the Buffalo Bird. This was due to the fact Cowbirds rode on the backs of bison and ate the ticks and flies that congregated on and about the herds.

Cowbirds have also been dubbed Bird Chickens, being they can lay more eggs than any other wild bird. A single female is capable of laying one egg per day at the peak of her breeding season, and she produces a total of 30-40 eggs over her two to three month breeding season (May-July). Because female Cowbirds usually lay only one egg in the nest of a bird of another species, they can intrude into 30-40 nests. They are certainly busy gals! “Various federal and local government non-game agencies have initiated programs to control Cowbird numbers over the past 25 years.”

These birds are not dumb. People will say the smaller the brain the smaller the intelligence. I have observed that to be false. I have owned the smallest of exotic fish and their brains reason quite well. God is the magnificent designer and He has implanted the wisest of brains in the ant. This is why He instructs us to observe toiling ants—He wants us to glean from their wisdom and exampled work ethic.

I don’t think we can learn godly attributes from this intrusive flyer. Moreover, Christians certainly do not want to imitate their mating system. Some do practice monogamy, but some adopt a mixture of monogamy and polygamy. Some are totally promiscuous. I tell you, it is hard to find anything good about this brazen winger.

The Brown-headed Cowbird is smaller and shorter-tailed than blackbirds and grackles and has a more conical bill. There are four other Cowbird species: Screaming Cowbird, Giant Cowbird, Bronzed Cowbird, and Shiny Cowbird. Male Brown-headed Cowbirds have glossy black plumage and a rich brown head that often appears black if you do not have a close-up view. Female Brown-headed Cowbirds are light brown with fine streaking on their belly. They have no distinct brown head. Both sexes display dark eyes.

Brown-headed Cowbirds occupy most of North America south of the Arctic. They feed in open habitats—fields, pastures, meadows, forest edges, and lawns with mixed-species groups of Blackbirds and Starlings. These noisy Cowbirds produce a multitude of clicks, whistles, gurgling and chatter-like calls and songs. They are not known for serenading with a radiant voice.

We can learn how to wrongfully act and how to rightfully act through creation’s endless examples. God stated Herod who sought to kill Him was a fox. This states a lot about Herod who was not to be trusted. Foxes are ruthless predators as are Brown-headed Cowbirds.

Christians are called to be gentle as doves, but wise as serpents. We are never to prey on others. We are not to manipulate, but wisely guide others in the truths of Christ. We are also called to be hospitable not parasitical.

Christians should desire to see people receive Jesus Christ as their Savior because they recognize His love for them. People should never feel they were manipulated to follow Christ because they were given no choice and they felt threatened. This would paint an ugly and false picture of Biblical Christianity. Christ never acted unwisely for the sake of obtaining numbers as many churches do today. Christ stated people must count the cost in following Him, as there are countless Christ-haters in the world. He did not paint a rosy picture to gather a great multitude of followers. One who desires to follow the Savior must understand they need to own a great heart of love for the One who died in their place for all their wrongdoings.

Please click here for more information regarding this: Letter to the Bird Enthusiast!

Photos by Val Lee

*Info gathered from various websites