Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Brown Headed Cowbird molothrus ater

My photos for world bird Wed. are of a bird I had not ever seen before here.Kim at The Sheep`s Nest,& my  friend,Jen,ID`d him for me when he arrived last year in April.The couple of cowbirds only stayed a couple of days,& I haven`t seen them again.They are considered a brood parasite,you don`t want them in your yard.They lay their eggs in someone elses nests,lacking the desire to raise their own babies.Sometimes I laugh a little about how our natural world is somewhat like our own human world.
But,at any rate,I was happy to see this new bird ,I wonder if they`ll pass through here again this year.
Go see pineriverreview,the Springman`s blog to see other birds in all parts of our world.

14 comments:

theconstantwalker said...

A beautiful bird I have never heard about before.Lovely images many thanks for sharing.

tiptoethruphylsgarden.blogspot.com said...

I too think it is a beautiful bird & was surprised to see it here in the woods where we live,phylliso

Springman said...

Sweet images Phyllis! I guess I dabble in a bit of anthropomorphising myself every now and then. Your point is well taken!

Becky said...

We get lots of Brown headed Cowbirds here . I just had a couple last week on my feeders. No squirrels though. We live in the country surrounded by Spruce trees. No Oak or nut trees. That's propably why.
Love your header. I love owls.
I have raised goats for 35 years, but never had any Angora. I finally gave up last year. I just don't like trudging twice a day to the barn any more in the winter. I guess I'm getting too old. LOL
Thanks for stopping by.Come back anytime.
Becky

Larry said...

Nice shots of the Brown-headed Cowbird Phyllis! I'm glad I don't have any around my place because of the parasitism but they are beautiful birds.

Unknown said...

Great photos of a bird I have never seen. Boom & Gary Of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Sondra said...

ITs so true...we are NOT the first to let someone else take the reins...
Great shots of the Cow Bird!

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

The Cow birds hang around my yard all winter, I never seem to see 'em in the summer. They follow the cattle around in the pastures eatin' grain that's...well...ahummmm...gone through! Now everyone can say...ewwwwwww!!! :o)

Great pictures as usual.

God bless and have a magnificent day sweetie!!!

Little Wren said...

I love your blog and the pictures you post! I'd never seen a cowbird until this picture. They are an interesting bird. Thanks for sharing Phyllis. :)

Unknown said...

It's beautiful, love the combination of brown and black. Great shots!

Andora said...

great shots...I love taking pictures of any animal..I guess I just love nature...thanks for visiting my blog and your sweet comments....Andora

Aleta said...

We get cowbirds at our feeder in the early summer, then in mid summer they disappear, and in the end of summer they come back with a dramatic increase in number, and then they disappear in the fall until the next spring. We never see them in the winter. I'm sure they are, unfortunately, laying their eggs in the songbirds' nests. Do you notice their voice is a sound like a gurgling, liquid sound? It is very distinctive. I've read somewhere that you can keep them away from your feeders by removing what seeds they like to eat. We haven't taken the time to do that, but we probably should! Great pictures of this nuisance of a bird!

Baggaraggs: said...

Hey Phyllis,
We have tons of Cowbirds here. They are really something. The baby bird that gets grown in another birds nest soon becomes so large that it pushes the other natural children out of the nest. I agree...rather parallels some human families. LOL Hugs and Love Robin

Debra said...

Hi Phyllis-
We have them in late spring. I love to hear the funny song and the antics they make when they 'sing.' They ruffle up and do a weird head bob and do something with their wings-like their big cousins (I think) the black birds). I have to say I like these birds, even thought they have a bad reputation.
~Debra