The Brown-headed Cowbird is a stocky blackbird with a fascinating approach to raising its young. Females forgo building nests and instead put all their energy into producing eggs, sometimes more than three dozen a summer.

Cowbirds are birds belonging to the genus Molothrus in the family Icteridae. They are of New World origin, but some species not native to North America are invasive there, and are obligate brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species.

Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect the range of the Brown-headed Cowbird. Learn even more in our Audubon’s Survival By Degrees project .

2024年2月22日 · Learn why the brown-headed cowbird is many birders' least favorite—and how to tell cowbird eggs apart from those of other species.

The brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) is a small, obligate brood parasitic icterid native to temperate and subtropical North America. It is a permanent resident in the southern parts of its range; northern birds migrate to the southern United States and Mexico in winter, returning to their summer habitat around March or April.

2016年2月25日 · How Does a Cowbird Learn To Be a Cowbird? New research explains how these brood parasites—who are raised by other species—still manage to become cowbirds. A Wilson's Warbler is dwarfed by the Brown-headed Cowbird chick that it's trying to raise.

2025年3月3日 · Brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) are native to North America and commonly referred to as simply cowbirds. They also have a reputation for being destructive to the nests of other bird species. Many bird enthusiasts consider cowbirds a nuisance, but are they really a backyard bird bully or simply misunderstood?

Male cowbirds have shiny black bodies, warm brown heads, and a black, conical bill. Brown-headed Cowbirds are native to the United States and prefer open grasslands, as well as agricultural, urban, and suburban habitats where grain …

A compact, bull-necked bird of open country, the Bronzed Cowbird forages for seeds and grains on the ground, usually in flocks. In good light, the male shimmers with deep glossy blue on the wing and a black body with a velvety bronze sheen. Males and females have intense red eyes.

Brown-headed Cowbirds are now found across most of North America. They are usually in deciduous forests, forest edge and grassland. See BBS map. Bronzed Cowbirds tend to be in partially open habitats with scattered trees or scrub and pastures. They are only found in the arid southwest. See BBS map.