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.

Nestling brown-headed cowbirds Molothrus ater typically hatch earlier and grow faster than young of the many host species of this generalist obligate brood parasite. However, a cowbird chick also ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...