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Screaming Cowbird - BirdForum Opus

Molothrus rufoaxillaris
Photo © by Fritz73
Argentina.

Identification

Adults are black with limited feather sheen, usually greenish-blue; female smaller (rufous axillars are usually not seen in the field). Younger birds mirror Grayish Baywing.

Similar species

Shiny Cowbird has a longer bill and rounder head. It is sexually dimorphic, so flocks of all black birds are more likely to be the present species.

Distribution

Bolivia to Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species.

Habitat

Pastureland, towns, scrubby areas, and heavily degraded former forest.

Behaviour

It parasitizes the nest of the Grayish Baywing.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2012. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2012. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
  2. Neotropical birds online

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

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