Boooo-Hissssss- brown headed cowbird- QTVideo (1 Viewer)

alarson2 · Mar 26, 2005

Yup! two of 'em actually. I did not know that until after I had looked at the harvested tape. I hope you can see the brown head on these badboys. It's hard to tape a black bird on a dark day. And to have the size of the video be so small. It shows out OK on full screen.

And what did I do while these scum bags of the bird world were on my feeder? Nothing. I was mesmerized- as usual- when something different happens. I should have dragged out the old shotgun and blasted them into oblivion!! I can just see me explaining that to the SWAT team. "I had to officer, they were going to put their eggs into my cardinal's nests."

one minute video-

iMovie

Tammie · Mar 29, 2005

Definitely a sign of summer..... Ugh! I'm not ready for cowbirds yet! Luckily, I only ever get 2, maybe 3 in a whole season. HOpe you don't get overrun with them.

Listening to the doves eat, it sounds like drumbeats far off in the distance!

cavan wood · Mar 29, 2005

I grew up with cowbirds on the farm. They really are rather interesting to watch as the scurry around among the cattle, picking up whatever the cows stir up.

If they were an introduced species I would probably detest them (like starlings - sorry brits), but like the lowly coyote, I have to admire an animal that has found a new way of doing things. They evolved their strategies, and the birds that evolved with them have to cope, just like they do with predators. Besides, I quite like their song.

As an aside, I once monitored a horned larks nest with a cowbird's egg in it. After checking the eggs a couple of times, I returned a few days later to find only two horned lark chicks and no cowbird chick. It was a bit of a surprise, but it just goes to show you that the cowbird doesn't always win.

Cheers,
Scott

alarson2 · Mar 29, 2005

Hi Scott-

I don't really hate them and I guess they do deserve to live. I have heard that their strategy may have evolved from having to travel with the herds of cattle over the ranges and never having time to stop and build their own nests, they just did the next best thing- borrowed one from a neighbor.

This past week was the first I have seen them in quite a long time (years)- I saw those two males last week and today I saw a female- she is on my Feeder Cam video for today. I am not familiar with their song- I wish i knew what it sounded like.

And Tammie- the drumbeats of the doves banging the bottom of the feeder- I have 2 microphones out there coming in to a mixer and then to the camcorders. The whole deck and feeder is an "acoustic sound stage." I can hear almost every sound they make. I have the sound tweaked quite a bit and all the bass and half the mids are cut out completely- If you could here what I hear in this neighborhood- I would have to pay royalties for the hip-hop and mexican music you would be hearing as background on my videos.

Kevin Mac · Mar 29, 2005

Cowbirds didn't used to be a problem because they are an open range bird. They won't go into forests unless people give them an avenue. That means clearing forest for farms, housing, etc.have created habitat for them. Roads are also a corridor which cowbirds use. Doesn't look good, does it?

Andy Wraithmell · Mar 31, 2005

call yourselves birders. Pah! So quick to condemn mother nature. What are your views on hawks and other parasitic species. They all have a role to play. One things for sure Brown-headed Cowbirds aren't as bad as the most destrcutive species on the planet. Humans! Nuff said.

buckskin hawk · Mar 31, 2005

Cowbird research

Limeybirder said:
call yourselves birders. Pah! So quick to condemn mother nature. What are your views on hawks and other parasitic species. They all have a role to play. One things for sure Brown-headed Cowbirds aren't as bad as the most destrcutive species on the planet. Humans! Nuff said.

Take a look at this research project by the Sutton Center. They studied the effects of cowbirds and found that some populations were actually improved. Some songbird parents apparently became more productive-better parents if you will.

http://www.suttoncenter.org/bhco.html

smudgepot · Mar 31, 2005

buckskin hawk said:
Take a look at this research project

Thanks, Buckskin Hawk. That was an interesting article. I wonder if cowbirds chose the same species to host their eggs as the species that raised them. That would make sense - species that do well raising parasitized nests would produce more cowbirds and therefore be preferred by the next generation of cowbirds. It is an interesting relationship.

alarson2 · Mar 31, 2005

Thank you so much Buck, that was a most interesting article. I appreciate the information. Not so much to worry about then.

cavan wood · Apr 1, 2005

buckskin hawk said:
Take a look at this research project by the Sutton Center. They studied the effects of cowbirds and found that some populations were actually improved. Some songbird parents apparently became more productive-better parents if you will.

http://www.suttoncenter.org/bhco.html

Thanks for the article Buck, I knew they weren't so bad.

Although, you have to wonder about the mechanism. Are some parasitized nests having better production because the cowbirds are good a picking good parents? It's all very complicated isn't it? Gotta love it.

Scott

buckskin hawk · Apr 1, 2005

How a cowbird chooses a host nest.

cavan wood said:
Thanks for the article Buck, I knew they weren't so bad.

Although, you have to wonder about the mechanism. Are some parasitized nests having better production because the cowbirds are good a picking good parents? It's all very complicated isn't it? Gotta love it.

Scott

After reading the comments and looking at the above questions, I started to think about how the cowbird chooses a nest. I found more research from the Sutton Site. They report earilier in another study of Tall Grass Prairie birds that:

The rate of parasitism is related to many factors, but the landscape appears to be a major one. Past research has shown that cowbirds preferentially parasitize nests closer to roads and nearer open patches in forest. Our data suggest that the extent of grazing is a much more important predictor of the probability of having a nest parasitized. Nest placement also has a big effect on the probability:

To read more:
http://www.suttoncenter.org/etpb.html

If opportunity knocks and the nest is visable then they just seem to go right ahead.

Tero · Apr 2, 2005

There is a balance to all. They cannot be 100% successful, otherwise the species they parasitize will go extinct and they also. But as they use so many species, that won't happen soon.

American cuccoos are funny. Apparently they parasitize only each other.

smudgepot · Apr 2, 2005

I don't know if the article is saying that oriole chicks have a better survival rate if the nest IS parasitized.

I was a little confused about what "successful nest" means in the Sutton Study. Do you think that means just the cowbird chick(s) made it or both cowbird and the parasitized species chick(s)?

It would have been nice to have a breakdown of who made it out of the successful nests.

marcus · Apr 2, 2005

This morning I saw a male Brown-headed Cowbird for the first time this year. That bird and a lot of Red-winged Blackbirds are the only birds of that family that I have seen so far this year.

cavan wood · Apr 2, 2005

buckskin hawk said:
After reading the comments and looking at the above questions, I started to think about how the cowbird chooses a nest. I found more research from the Sutton Site. They report earilier in another study of Tall Grass Prairie birds that:

The rate of parasitism is related to many factors, but the landscape appears to be a major one. Past research has shown that cowbirds preferentially parasitize nests closer to roads and nearer open patches in forest. Our data suggest that the extent of grazing is a much more important predictor of the probability of having a nest parasitized. Nest placement also has a big effect on the probability:

To read more:
http://www.suttoncenter.org/etpb.html

If opportunity knocks and the nest is visable then they just seem to go right ahead.

What I get from reading this, is that the sites that are grazed and/or burned are prefered nest sites for grassland birds, and these are also the sites preferred by the cowbirds. Does it follow therefore, that on average, nests selected by cowbirds are those that would have had the best success anyway? There needs to be a comparison of parasitized and unparasitized nests within the prefered habitat in order to anwer this question.
i.e. Is the reported increase in nest success caused by the cowbirds, or is success and parasitism both dependant on habitat? I'm guessing the latter, but it's only a guess.

Scott

buckskin hawk · Apr 3, 2005

cavan wood said:
What I get from reading this, is that the sites that are grazed and/or burned are prefered nest sites for grassland birds, and these are also the sites preferred by the cowbirds. Does it follow therefore, that on average, nests selected by cowbirds are those that would have had the best success anyway? There needs to be a comparison of parasitized and unparasitized nests within the prefered habitat in order to anwer this question.
i.e. Is the reported increase in nest success caused by the cowbirds, or is success and parasitism both dependant on habitat? I'm guessing the latter, but it's only a guess.

Scott

Thanks everyone. I have enjoyed the Sutton Website and wish more sites were available with study results.

I e-mail your question Scott and also asked if more material was available on the subject. We'll see if they respond.

CBSlayer2004 · Apr 3, 2005

If you think you're unlucky, you should see my Brown-Headed Cowbirds. There are at least 7 males and 6 females, I wish they would leave my feeders which I was fortunate enough to find out 6 males have left. The Red-Winged Blackbirds chase them away from the feeder if they go to theirs. But they just go to my windowsill then, curse them!

Boooo-Hissssss- brown headed cowbird- QTVideo (1 Viewer)

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