Brown Headed Cowbirds - A Brood Parasite
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 19 апр 2021
- In this video you can learn tons of cool things about the Brown Headed Cowbird. From habitat to behavior, this video has everything. Did you know, that these birds don't raise their own young? Find out more in the video!
If you enjoyed, please don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell so you know when I release a new video. Thanks for watching! :) 
Животные
When I first started birdwatching a little over a year ago, I was so confused whenever I saw the female cowbirds. They really look like huge finches. Thanks for the video. Very informative!
I know! Thanks for watching!
I love these birds. Their liquid musical call is so beautiful.
Just got done working on a psych assignment that referenced these birdies. Turns out the males produce more potent songs when reared in isolation compared to growing up being able to interact with other birds. The more potent socially isolated songs actually are more enticing to females once the males are introduced into a group so much so, that the native residents try to kill the newcomers! Interesting to see how the male groups shape vocal behavior so much that it's actually LESS enticing to the women than the socially isolated males who are able to experiment with their own songs and sing at higher frequencies. Thanks for the video!
Oh wow that is amazing! Thanks for sharing, I did not know that!
😮
@@birdnerd5631 Yep, of course! The message is: be different-the ladies love it 😂
@@Casualbystanderman, I love that message. Can’t say the same for cowbirds…
Birds messages can inspire, I suppose, just as really the KJV can if one is truly looking for inspiration. Unable to hold on to my children for before I took birding 101 I suffered self recriminations for losing my babies. After learning about cowbirds choosing the nest to stash her eggs I really was able to accept my decisions as less than damning. Now 84 I thank cowbirds!
My favorite thing about these birds is watching them poof up their bodies and then making the water dripping liquid noise.
it definitely is a VERY unique sound they make
As cruel as it seems to destroy the nest if their egg is destroyed, it's easy to understand why it works from an evolutionary perspective. Raising a brood parasite alongside your own chicks definitely lowers your own chicks chance of survival, but it doesn't lower the chance as much as when the vengeful mom comes and destroys the whole batch of eggs.
This is also why lots of times if a brood parasite egg is discovered often the nest is completely abandoned in favour of starting over at a new nest site. If you manage to avoid getting any brood parasites at the new nest, it's worth the hassle.
Thanks for the info! I never knew what a cowbird was until I found an injured one on my walk to work. I called a rescue organization & they picked it up & told me what it was. After that, I started noticing them everywhere, but especially in my garden plot. I love the color of brown heads, as well as their feather’s sheen. I think they’re pretty.
I actually had one of these birds kicked out of a nest on top of a pillar on my moms porch. I ended up taking it because it was still very pink and young. It’s older now and thinks I’m it’s mom, but for a while I was wondering what kind of bird it was because it looks nothing like the mother I see sitting in the nest.
Have 4 males and 3 females here. Surprisingly they haven’t found the Robin nest to lay their eggs! Great video!
for my science project, I'm gonna incubate cowbird eggs! 😊
A bird built a nest in our flower pot, i left it so the kids can watch it. Today we found a foreign egg and I came across your video here researching it. The video was great, you put a lot of effort into these, we watched a few and will keep watching!
Thank you so much! You mad my day! :)
Thanks for the great info on the cowbird.
Very informative. Thank you.
beautiful footage and great info!!
Thank you!
Thanks for the video! Just had one visit!
I am not exactly sure why but I've noticed a great increase of brown headed cowbirds in my neighbourhood in recent years... perhaps it's due to range expansion?
Well as long as they are in their native habitat nature ought to be able to keep things in balance. I like them despite the bad reputation.
Fascinating Ty. ❤️✝️🇺🇸
Nice video! Subscribed. I’d like you to include bird song in your videos.
Thanks
I'm so glad I watched this because today an obvious fledgling showed up and it seemed to be completely alone. I've been wondering about that all day.
It is a very interesting topic. I've been watching short videos of cuckoo birds tossing the host eggs and baby birds out of the nest. Hard not to take sides!
very very interessting
This is comment number 2 i found your content quite informative
I need some help with this there was a American robin nest near my house and there was five babies all hatched one of them was a brown headed cow bird and i went to check on them and they were all there but the next day the cow bird was gone is it possible the mother robin removed the baby cow bird baby I’ve heard they remove parasite eggs sometimes is it possible she removed the baby herself?(also I checked under the nest and there was no dead babies it’s pretty high up so the birds wouldn’t survive and all the babies had barely any feathers so they couldn’t fly)
Wonderful information . Interesting birds they are. Thanks for sharing my friend. Enjoyed as usual Irene.💛⭐
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed! :)
Cool
Thanks!
Nice video 😁🙂😎👍
Thank you!
was the brood parasite video made?
Where are your other videos? I wanna learn!
Click on the little part that has my channel name and logo underneath the title, that will take you to my channel where you can see all my current videos and subscribe to see upcoming ones as they come out! Thanks for watching! :)
I love watching peeps react when I tell them they r a real thing...I should bet some 💵,but just messing with them is great😅
I'm raising one of these baby's, she's doing great, I originally thought it was a sparrow because the mom was one then was told it was a grackle tho it looked a lil different and upon finding someone who raised a grackle they said it was a brown headed cow bird. When I looked up the cow fledglings they look exactly alike where as grackles looked a lil different from my baby but simular. I can't wait until she grows in her face feathers lol.
I am raising one as well! I cleared some weeds while I was working in the garden, and accidentally uncovered what I believe to be a chipping or field sparrows nest. 2 sparrows and one big cowbird baby.
The cowbird will fall asleep in my hand after feeding it
@@user-zy4wv7yx1z awe so cute my baby has flown the nest which was bitter sweet but I'm looking into getting a bird as a pet, I'm going to look at a breeder on the 12th, I already have a cage and some toys. If the breeder doesn't met standards then I'll probably rescue a bird. Its honestly so hard after you get used to their lil chirps and then silence...
@@servicegemsapphire4593 How old was your cowbird before she took off? The male cowbird that I'm raising is about two months old now. We go out in the yard to hunt for bugs everyday when I get home from work. He did fly off today for the first time, which just about broke my heart, but thankfully returned after 45 minutes.
Some advice for you, as far as finding a domesticated bird. Stay away from lovebirds and conures. I have a lovebird, and I love him very much, but he is an absolute terror and full-time job (as he is out of his cage for most of the day). He's more work than both macaws combined that I've raised. I've heard that conures are very similarly terrible, so steer clear. If I could do it over again, I would have just adopted a budgie. Just do your homework before making that 30-80 years commitment to a bird.
@@wolfmanradio I have no idea how old my baby was when he was first brought home so this is a rough estimate, I had him for about 3 month's before he left for good and I'm assuming he was about 2 months when I got him. I actually do have a bird now a blue and white budgie, her name is Stevie and she's rescue.
@@servicegemsapphire4593 Thank you for the reply, and congratulations on adopting your budgie! I’m going to miss him when he/if he takes off forever.
What do I do about egg dropped in blue bird nest. Do I pinhole it and replace it I have seen bluebirds struggle with this happening before in one of my boxes. It is not fair to the bluebird parents as this is a very aggressive and demanding chick and is usually hatched before the other bluebirds
Good question! Brown Headed Cowbirds are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, so it is unlawful to remove their eggs without a permit. Some birds may see the egg and abandon the nest but sometimes not. As I said in the video, female Brown Headed Cowbirds will also keep track of their eggs and if they see them removed they may destroy the other eggs and/or nestlings. In a 2007 study researchers found that when they removed Cowbird eggs from warbler nests, 56% of the time the cowbird mother retaliated. This behavior has not been studied any further but it just adds another reason not to remove it besides legality. The Brown Headed Cowbirds parasitism is completely natural and we should not let our emotions or values get in the way of the natural behavior. Yes, it is really sad to see the host parents struggle, but a lot of species have evolved to live with the cowbird chick and who knows the brood just might be successful. On the flip side, the evolution of Brown Headed Cowbirds to find nests, lay eggs, and time it right with the host nests is incredible. The bottom line is, leave the egg alone and let nature do its thing, just remember the behavior is completely natural.
@@birdnerd5631 I say destroy the egg! Humans get to act naturally, too, you know, and I suspect the police have better things to do than tracking down egg addlers!
@@tahiragibson6407 Humans would not normally be destroying eggs like that if it were not for our evolution and our rapid spread across the world and the massive growth in our population. Yes, you are not likely to be tracked down for the destruction of the egg, but just know you are meddling in a normal and natural cycle, and in reality the cowbirds are not doing anything wrong. This is what they have done for millions of years, and any birds species that they would have driven into extinction would be long gone. The destruction of vital habitat (by humans) is the main factor contributing to the decline in many endangered bird species. If the moral that they are killing innocent birds is what makes people hate these birds so much, compare them to a hawk. A hawk is another native bird which will hunt other birds and small mammals. They will take whatever they can catch, this is the same as the cowbirds, a completely normal part of nature, Nature is not always flowers and butterflies, so it is important to appreciate and respects all parts, even the cowbirds.
@@birdnerd5631 Also, if the reason someone wants to destroy a cowbird egg is because they see them as a threat to other birds, destroying a cowbird egg is a threat to the cowbird! Who are we to meddle in their affairs?
So what you want, no one is going to know. I have quite a few near where I live and now that I learned this I know what to do
thanks for the info! Also, your voice reminds me of Mila Kunis
Thanks for watching! Haha, thanks :)
Omg I thought the same thing! Or Luanne from king of the hill without the accent
They bully and run off smaller birds and will eat up all your seeds, plus rhey bring 50 more buddies with them.
Mafia birds… that’s what Cowbirds are.
So I saw a stunned cowbird it got stunned by the cold we took him to the Florida wildlife sanctuary hope he is ok.
Wow, i just realized you made this video years ago and may never see these comments
Trinston was here...
Thanks for watching! :)
I live in Vermont and I have a couple bird feeders outside. I have all manner of birds that visit daily, and some rarer types that come by every so often, mostly the insect feeders.
I had what I thought might be a little fledgling Mockingbird show up on my porch one day a couple weeks ago... and she must have either been sent to me, or she sensed something in me- because she made friends with me almost immediately.
I went out and bought some mealworms (her faveeeeorite but she also does eat seeds from the feeders) and now she visits me many times per day and spends time with me :’) Come to find out, she’s actually a female Cowbird.
She let’s me hold her and love on her, and perches on me with such consoling energy. She even lets me sing her to sleep. I feel such a significance from her presence in my life, especially now, as I am in currently in very poor health. In mind, in body... and in spirit. I feel such a sense of healing since she has come into my life, so I’m here to learn more about this special little bird and give it shout-out’s full of love and gratitude ❤️
Does anyone happen to know, are they normally this engaging with humans? Or am I just unbelievably blessed? :’)
PS: She is very, very sweet and fair with all the other birds that come here and she’s the only Cowbird we have around here that I know of. I haven’t personally caught glimpse of any others.
KOS
I just wish the Cowbird crapping on my black truck for the last 6 months would go away. If I wanted white vertical stripes on my truck, I would take it to a custom shop.
Birds have been known to do that if the homeowner is cruel to birds.
@@user-uc9jk1kl7o Okay, bird brain.
Is this Meg? from family guy
Ok on
This is comment number 4. If you could could you caputre the cowbirds call
This is comment number 3 but it supposed to be number 4. I got the numbers mixed up
Beautiful call they have but wow they're pretty much deadbeat parents and bullies LOL...
I have had a few here in Wisconsin, I hope they leave when it gets cold, don’t like them or any black bird
Narrator's voice is like someone chewing on aluminum foil....
Jeezuss.
Lesley the bird nerd had her name before you! Talk about thieving someone’s hard work.
These words are not copyrighted, I never claimed to be her. You can find TONS of bird nerd stuff across every platform, I have shirts, hats and more that say it. Anyone can be a bird nerd! Plus all my content is original! :)
@@birdnerd5631 a true Nerd…..
@@michiganwoodsman2199 ?
Cow birds are the ultimate Karen..
Cow birds acts like the Mafia. I've had cow birds at my feeder. Once I see them I take my feeders down immediately, I treat it like a sock bird at at feeder.. give it a few weeks and they move on,, while the other birds tend to realize what I am doing. As stick it out.. I say Friday few xp's.Because even though the cow bird laid their egg on another nest they still watch their chick.
Think of it as trailer trash who still has visitation rights. It gets ugly really fast.
Robin's and warblers tend to be more of a target on. They notice it's not their egg. But the moment they build over it or the moment the egg is pushed out or destroyed. The cowbird wrecks havco on them literally like what you would imagine trailer trash as a neighbor who is trying to trick you into raising their kids.
I don't like the term either. But it's the best way I translate to human terms what is going on.
I agree, I don’t have many here n Wisconsin, but I can’t stand any kind of black bird.
This is my second year to be “dealing with their shenanigans”. I should have removed my feeders at first sight but I hated that for all my other feeder birds that are more courteous to each other. They have taken over this year. (Last year I only saw them a few weeks and that’s what I was holding out for). They are bold and spread themselves out to be larger than they are and aren’t fazed at any of my even larger birds. No way! I will remove feeder next year. It breaks my heart for my cardinals, Titmouse, finches and chickadees but hopefully they can survive on a small feeder that is designed to keep squirrels out and a suet feeder. I was glad to learn a few things that I didn’t know about them and am a new subscriber. Thank you!
The cowbird destroys young families and even tears them apart. This is a horrible species and i hope they stop terrorizing innocent parents.
I wanted to leave you a thumbs up BUT It went to 666 and i could not be a 666 sorry, but i did leave you 5 comments to make up for the no like
What do I do about egg dropped in blue bird nest. Do I pinhole it and replace it I have seen bluebirds struggle with this happening before in one of my boxes. It is not fair to the bluebird parents as this is a very aggressive and demanding chick and is usually hatched before the other bluebirds
Yeah you should do. Don't let people scare you off regarding fines. They're awful birds.
Nothing. Let nature take it’s course.
It's not really fair to the cowbird chick for you to kill it either.