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Brown-headed Cowbird Pair

Posted on Mar 26, 2015

Last week I saw my first Brown-headed Cowbirds of the year, one of the blackbird species well known for making their way north in March. Here you can see a pair feeding in grasslands with the female on the left and the male, sporting his brown head, on the right. The species is a brood parasite, laying their eggs in the nests of other species, with familiar backyard birds like the Yellow Warbler being a common victim. I have seen them feeding the comically enormous fledglings quite often!

Brown-headed Cowbird pair

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator