Sunday, June 14, 2009

Baby Brown -headed Cowbirds

Some baby Brown-headed Cowbirds have started visiting our feeders as of this past week. The female Cowbirds don't make their own nests, but they lay their eggs in the nests of unsuspecting mommy birds who raise the cowbirds as their own. Last year, we had one baby Cowbird who stuck around for a few weeks. My suspicion is that they were raised with House Finches. At first we thought the Cowbirds were House Finches, but they are larger and have a different beak. This year, we were able to identify the Cowbirds sooner, and we have at least two babies we see every day now. As they grow, they start to intimidate the smaller finches and walk on the deck like they own the place.

No comments:

Post a Comment