Female Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) were systematically removed from two adjacent Hooded Warbler (Wilsonia citrina) breeding populations for 2-5 years. All female cowbirds detected using ...

A sweet Mama Cardinal is sitting on her nest nearly hidden in a dense bush near the front of the house. She refuses to budge even when the big man with the roaring power washer looms near. He’s ...

A chuckling gurgle and a squeaky whistle announce the presence of one of nature's oddest and most maligned birds, the brown-headed cowbird. They're a native species but have an alien-like habit: They ...

You are able to gift 5 more articles this month. Anyone can access the link you share with no account required. Learn more. One of the many birds returning to Maine for the breeding season is the ...

Claim to fame: The brown-headed cowbird is well-known in birding circles, but is not particularly well-liked. That’s because of its habit of laying eggs in the nests of other species of birds. A ...

Suggested alternate names include Lazy Bird, Cuckold, Cow-pen Bird, Buffalo Bird or the Brown-headed Oriole. I know of no one else able to make reading long articles on birds such a fascinating ...

When the female cowbird lays her egg in the nest, she also removes one or two warbler eggs from the nest. Generally, she takes out more eggs than she puts in the nest. When throwing away eggs, she is ...

There are exceptions to all birds being equal in my book. And one of them is the lazy brown-headed cowbird female, who neither makes a nest nor raises her young. It is not her fault for being lazy, ...

Many species of birds get reputations of various sorts. One species that gets a bad rap, through no fault of its own, is the brown-headed cowbird. The female cowbird lays its eggs in the nests of ...

Brown-headed cowbirds have a reputation for being deadbeat parents: They lay their eggs in other birds' nests and then disappear, the story goes, leaving the care and feeding of their offspring to an ...

Every spring I get reports from astonished readers describing a small bird feeding a much larger, obviously begging chick. Can you explain this, readers ask. The answer is “brood parasitism.” ...

ALTAMONT, N.Y. -- Anyone who watches birds knows many species can be lumped into the blackbird family. The red-winged blackbird and the common grackle are the most obvious members of this group, but ...