Many biologists have a love/hate relationship with brown-headed cowbirds. We love their ecological and behavioral ingenuity, but we hate the impact they have on a variety of native nesting song birds.

Brown-headed cowbirds are generalist brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of many other bird species and letting the host parents raise their young. A new study seeks to understand the ...

While the brown-headed cowbird is native to North America, it is a much worse villain than the European starling — an invasive species that has expanded like wildfire in the U.S. since it was ...

DEAR JOAN: A California towhee has built a nest in our jasmine bush. She laid three eggs about one week ago. Now we look in the nest and there is a fourth egg and it sure looks like a cowbird egg. We ...

Nature has so many different ways to accomplish just one task – reproduction. At this time of year, it seems that everywhere I look I see baby birds. It’s a blizzard of baby birds being fed by their ...

Female brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) singing at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge near New York City. (Credit: Rhododendrites / CC BY-SA 4.0) Brown-headed cowbirds, Molothrus ater, are fascinating ...

Several people reported a strange sight at their feeders this past week. In all cases, a small bird was busily feeding a much larger begging bird. The smaller bird was indeed the parent. Unfortunately ...

It’s that time of year here in our neck of Pennsylvania when it’s prime nesting season for our feathered friends. Case in point: Our home in Northbrook is now surrounded by nesting birds. These ...

The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, Vol. 122, No. 4 (December 2010), pp. 795-799 (5 pages) The Screaming Cowbird (Molothrus rufoaxillaris) is one of the most specialized brood parasites with only three ...

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Brown-headed cowbirds are generalist brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of many other bird species and letting the host parents raise their young. A new study seeks to ...