Cowbird

Cowbird
Female brown-headed cowbird
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family:Icteridae
Genus:Molothrus
Swainson, 1832
Species

Cowbirds are birds belonging to the genus Molothrus in the family Icteridae. They are of New World origin. They are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species.

The genus Molothrus contains:

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Molothrus rufoaxillarisScreaming cowbirdnorth east and central Argentina, south east Bolivia, central Brazil and throughout Paraguay and Uruguay
Molothrus oryzivorus (formerly in Scaphidura)Giant cowbirdsouthern Mexico south to northern Argentina, and on Trinidad and Tobago
Molothrus aeneusBronzed cowbirdsouthern U.S. states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana south through Central America to Panama
Molothrus bonariensisShiny cowbirdSouth America
Molothrus aterBrown-headed cowbirdsouthern United States and Mexico

The non-brood parasitic baywing was formerly placed in this genus; it is now classified as Agelaioides badius.

Behavior

Cowbirds eat insects, including the large numbers that may be stirred up by cattle. In order for the birds to remain mobile and stay with the herd, they have adapted by laying their eggs in other birds' nests. The cowbird will watch for when its host lays eggs, and when the nest is left unattended, the female will come in and lay its own eggs. The female cowbird may continue to observe the nest after laying eggs. If the cowbird egg is removed, the female cowbird may destroy the host's eggs to dissuade further removals, according to the Mafia hypothesis.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Jeffrey P. Hoover; Scott K. Robinson (13 March 2007). "Retaliatory mafia behavior by a parasitic cowbird favors host acceptance of parasitic eggs". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  • Jaramillo and Burke, New World Blackbirds ISBN 0-7136-4333-1
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