https://wiki-pathfindersonline.designerthan.at/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=169.229.74.58 2026-05-15T00:11:44Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.35.5 https://wiki-pathfindersonline.designerthan.at/index.php?title=Field_Guide/Birds/Molothrus_ater&diff=48681 2004-09-27T09:07:23Z

<p>169.229.74.58: minor spelling</p> <hr /> <div>{{Taxobox_begin | color = pink | name = Brown-headed Cowbird}}<br /> {{Taxobox_image | image = [[Image:BrownheadedCowbird23.jpg| Cowbird]] | caption = }}<br /> {{Taxobox_begin_placement | color = pink}}<br /> {{Taxobox_regnum_entry | taxon = [[Animal]]ia}}<br /> {{Taxobox_phylum_entry | taxon = [[Chordate|Chordata]]}}<br /> {{Taxobox_classis_entry | taxon = [[Bird|Aves]]}}<br /> {{Taxobox_ordo_entry | taxon = [[Passeriformes]]}}<br /> {{Taxobox_familia_entry | taxon = [[Icteridae]]}}<br /> {{Taxobox_genus_entry | taxon = '''''[[Molothrus]]'''''}}<br /> {{Taxobox_species_entry | taxon = '''''ater'''''}}<br /> {{Taxobox_end_placement}}<br /> {{Taxobox_section_binomial | color = pink | binomial_name = Molothrus ater | author = [[Pieter Boddaert|Boddaert]] | date = [[1783]]}}<br /> {{Taxobox_end}}<br /> <br /> The '''Brown-headed Cowbird''', ''Molothrus ater'', is a small [[icterid]].<br /> <br /> Adults have a short [[finch]]-like bill and dark eyes. The adult male is mainly irridescent black with a brown head. The adult female is grey with a pale throat and fine streaking on the underparts.<br /> <br /> Breeding in open or semi-open country across most of [[North America]], this bird lays its eggs in the nests of other small [[passerine]]s (perching birds), particularly those that build cup-like nests, such as the [[Yellow Warbler]]. The young cowbird is fed by the host parents at the expense of their own young.<br /> <br /> Brown-headed Cowbirds are permanent residents in the southern parts of their range; northern birds [[bird migration|migrate]] to the southern [[United States]] and [[Mexico]]. They often travel in flocks, sometimes mixed with [[Red-winged Blackbird]]s or [[European Starling]]s.<br /> <br /> These birds forage on the ground, often following grazing animals such as [[horse]]s and [[cattle|cow]]s to catch insects stirred up by the larger animals. They mainly eat seeds and insects.<br /> <br /> At one time, the Brown-headed Cowbird followed the [[American Bison|bison]] herds across the [[prairie]]s. Their [[parasite|parasitic]] nesting behaviour complimented this [[nomad|nomadic]] lifestyle. Their numbers expanded with the clearing of forested areas and the introduction of new grazing animals by settlers across North America. Brown-headed Cowbirds are now commonly seen at suburban birdfeeders.<br /> <br /> Brown-headed Cowbird females can lay 36 eggs in a season. Over 140 different species of birds are known to have raised young cowbirds. Host parents may sometimes notice the cowbird egg. Different species react in different ways. [[Gray Catbird]]s destroy the egg by pecking it. Some species may simply build a new layer over the bottom of the original nest. Brown-headed cowbird nestlings are sometimes expelled from the nest.<br /> <br /> [[nl:bruinkop-koevogel]]</div>

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