Brown Headed Cowbird Parasites Raised by Song Sparrows

Рет қаралды 3,414

11 ай бұрын

Brown Headed Cowbird parasite mini-Documentary. These huge, loud and demanding parasitic fledglings that mother Song Sparrow is shoveling sunflower seeds into as fast as she possibly can - are not her children! They are in fact the offspring of a brown-headed cowbird mother - a parasite. And it is a complicated and dark tale.
I have long known of the cowbird's parasitic reputation, but this spring was the first time I observed it play out close-up and documented it. It all started right in the Backyard in western North Carolina where the song sparrows had a nest high up inside a nearby arborvitae.
Filmed with Canon SX70HS on Amazon at: amzn.to/2QftDPd and with Campark T100 Trail Camera available at: shrsl.com/3nywk
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Пікірлер: 53

@awrensgarden3754 11 ай бұрын

The poor step parent has to work harder and wear themselves out trying to feed a bird that’s so much bigger than what she was made for. Great videos and information as always! Thanks so much for sharing your insight- the cardinal wasn’t having it, lol!

@maryclarafjare 11 ай бұрын

And the baby cowbird has no idea this isn't his mom, etc. Wow

@MyBackyardBirding 11 ай бұрын

True, the cowbird kids are just being kids I guess. But what a workload! BB

@beckyb7872 11 ай бұрын

Reminds me of some human parasites.

@dannisan77 11 ай бұрын

Northern cardinals are cute but feisty.

@kellkatz 11 ай бұрын

Just last week, we had a parent songbird with its trick chick pestering it. I said to dh how exhausting it must be for all the reasons. Cowgirl chicks seem to be the most vocal annoying fledglings that show up in my backyard. Great footage! TFS!

@CenturianEagle 11 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing! You get such great footage all the time, it’s crazy how much bigger those cowbird babies are than their adoptive parents sometimes 😂. It’s a shame what happens though but I suppose they’re just birds too and that’s just how they get by

@michaelcorcoran8768 3 ай бұрын

Yeah I think it's understandable why humans would be judgmental towards these birds but of course they don't know what they're doing... Driven by instinct. The entire species is incapable of raising young by themselves so it's not like they have any alternatives.

@beaglebrigade 11 ай бұрын

Interesting video. I always thought only one cowbird nestling would make it out of the nest. This poor couple had to raise three!

@shannonspage9360 11 ай бұрын

Yes it can happen when there is a shortage of suitable host nests.

@MyBackyardBirding 11 ай бұрын

@@shannonspage9360 Yes, the Song Sparrows seem to be easy marks so maybe they will evolve to resist in time, but for now their strategy is to apparently have more broods.

@carla4543 11 ай бұрын

1 million thumbs up, outstanding video!

@aprilhernandez4840 11 ай бұрын

Thank you and MBYB always find your videos very Informative and Entertaining💯🤙🏼

@MyBackyardBirding 11 ай бұрын

Thanks April, I hear the Screech Owls at night fairly often btw. BB

@johnswiecki 9 ай бұрын

Can you imagine how well taken care of her next brood was? After having to work way too hard to take care of those big imposters, taking care of her real babies must have been a cinch! Practice makes perfect! Thanks for the great video!

@MyBackyardBirding 9 ай бұрын

Good point! Thanks for watching. BB

@bird.passion 11 ай бұрын

What a fascinating documentary with amazing footage! The slow motion was awesome. Glad there was a nice ending to the story. Outstanding video, thank you!

@MyBackyardBirding 11 ай бұрын

Thank you very much! BB

@michaelcorcoran8768 3 ай бұрын

It's interesting that even when the cowbird is so large and seemingly would have no problem feeding itself from the seeds that are laying there... Still sort of instinctively relies on its parents. Obviously I understand why the parents are counted on for the heavy lifting in the hunting but wow. Hand feeding a bird five times its size it's just such an awkward site

@donnaleighjenkins4952 11 ай бұрын

Thanks for the video. I know these cowbirds are just doing what they know, doesn't keep them from being annoying, uh?

@Cosmogirl014 11 ай бұрын

I have recorded this through my photographs. Female cardinals also do this, pretty amazing.

@shannonspage9360 11 ай бұрын

Cowbirds, at least in my state, are on the decline. Several of their go to host species are learning to identify and remove cowbird eggs as well as overall decline in suitable host nests overall. A few native sparrow species will build an entire new nest on top of their original one if a cowbird egg is identified. They will move any of their own eggs to new top layer and leave the cowbird egg so it isn’t incubated. People also install nest boxes that have smaller openings that make it impossible for the cowbird to access a possible host species nest.

@MyBackyardBirding 11 ай бұрын

That's great, I think more birds will gradually evolve to exclude the cowbird eggs and the cowbirds will continue to find more species to exploit and ways to get their eggs hatched. An endless struggle. BB

@revolutionday1 3 ай бұрын

Well, from the looks of things, I have been almost single-handedly repopulating the species in Southern Indiana....which certainly wasn't my intention!

@maryclarafjare 11 ай бұрын

Wow the cowbird is so much bigger!!

@milkers_6969 Ай бұрын

I love that cardinal for that😂

@wisconsinbackyardbirding 11 ай бұрын

Great video and footage

@MyBackyardBirding 11 ай бұрын

Thanks! BB

@MaisieTheBlindHen 11 ай бұрын

Oops 😂❤❤❤❤❤

@Peter-jo6yu 11 ай бұрын

Beautiful!

@firesandflowers 11 ай бұрын

This was a great little mini drama! I know it's sometimes a bit heartbreaking to watch, but one thing for others to note is that if you remove cowbird eggs from a nest, you're breaking the US Migratory Bird Treaty Act. I've noticed many people are very surprised to learn this (honestly, I found it a bit absurd at first too). Obviously you'd have to get caught doing it or talking about having done it, but there can be serious penalties involved for breaking that law. I was also surprised to learn that collecting feathers (found on the ground) from birds covered under this act was also illegal!

@MyBackyardBirding 11 ай бұрын

Thanks and its true about the Migratory Bird Treaty Act regarding feathers and cowbird eggs. The problems arise if you try and sell feathers or display them to the public or online, prosecution is rare, but the problem with selling found feathers is a market is created and then people might try and kill protected birds to sell on a market, so the idea is to insure their is no market in feathers. There are exceptions for Indigenous peoples ceremonies etc. but permits are needed. BB

@alexwelts2553 Ай бұрын

The cowbird feather mites are different. Authoritarian, supervisional, satellite like.

@alexwelts2553 Ай бұрын

@@MyBackyardBirdingbird law 🤢🌪️🤠

@muliefriend4785 11 ай бұрын

Wow..that is so interesting.

@DocFarnoff 11 ай бұрын

I thought I had two giant mutant sparrows in my backyard. Another mystery solved by MBYB! Do cowbirds often travel with starlings?

@MyBackyardBirding 11 ай бұрын

Fortunately I don't have experience with Starlings. The cowbirds will form up into flocks in the winter. BB

@GillianMStarlight 11 ай бұрын

I read in one of my books that starlings can identify a cowbird egg in the starling nest and then remove it. I don't remember which book though,

@DocFarnoff 11 ай бұрын

Very interesting! I only get a small group of starlings for a couple weeks in early June. They are always accompanied by a few cowbirds who disappear when the starlings do.@@GillianMStarlight

@DocFarnoff 11 ай бұрын

8 or 10 starlings can empty my meal worm feeder in minutes! And I'm always over budget on bird food. If I had starlings all the time I would give up the pass time.@@MyBackyardBirding

@pigeonfowl474 11 ай бұрын

In my area, the cowbirds will often flock up with starlings and grackles

@ZaphodTHEBeeblebrox 11 ай бұрын

a parents love knows no species! 💛

@acgray1972 10 ай бұрын

I had only heard about the parasitic cow bird, until now. I feel sorry for the song bird.

@DocFarnoff 11 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@caterpuss Ай бұрын

I have been watching these birds for a while and the female and males both watch the nest their young are in. Im trying to build a trap for the females that I can let my cats into because there sre WAY too many of them on our 100+ acres. What they don't eat will get cooked and frozen for them for winter. I'm doing the same with gold fish that got into our lake. Im from British Columbia and these birds are becoming a problem.

@deborahdean8867 11 ай бұрын

I have a relative like that and she did exactly what this cowbird does, destroyed the real children and the whole family. A bitter child that yore down the whole family. Now I understand why old folks used to say dont bring in a orphan or foster child into your family. Or even marry a divorced person.