Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)

                                                                             Photos by BarrytheBirder

Male browned-headed Cowbirds

Female Brown-headed Cowbird

The male's brown head contrasts with the metallic greenish-blue black body, while the female is gray-brown above and paler below.

They are found across lower Canada, throughout the U.S.A. and parts of Mexico.   They are very common today, and their nest parasitism threatens populations of some smaller birds.

Cowbirds were named for their habit of feeding near cattle and other grazers; walking on the ground with their tails held straight up.

They often flock with starlings and blackbirds in agricultural and residental areas

They breed from northeast British Columbia east to Newfoundland in Canada, and south to Texas.   They winter across the southern United States.

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Barry the Birder