Bronzed Cowbird

It breeds from the southern US.

The Bronzed Cowbird is classified as Least Concern. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

The male Bronzed Cowbird is 20 cm long and weighs 68 g, with green-bronze glossed black plumage and red eyes. The female is 18.5 cm long and weighs 56 g. She is duller black above and browner below. Young birds are like the female but have grey feather fringes. Like all cowbirds, this bird is a brood parasite: it lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. The young cowbird is fed by the host parents at the expense of their own young. More

* The maximum number of Bronzed Cowbird eggs found in one nest was 14 in an abandoned nest. Habitat - Town Open fields, pastures, scrubby areas, tropical semideciduous forest, tropical deciduous forest, tropical scrub, lawns, golf courses, and agricultural areas. Back to Top Food - Insects Seeds and arthropods. More

* Bronzed Cowbird videos on the Internet Bird Collection * Bronzed Cowbird photo gallery VIREO This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. More

Bronzed Cowbird (Molothrus aeneus - found in TX, NW and AZ ) are the only obligate brood parasites in North America. The Shiny Cowbird (M. bonariensis) reached Florida in 1985 but have not been recorded breeding in North America (BNA). These birds don't build their own nests. Instead, they lay eggs in the nests of other birds, depending on the surrogate parent to incubate their eggs and rear their nestlings. Cowbird eggf in Eastern Bluebird nest. More

Bent Life History for the Bronzed Cowbird - the common name and sub-species reflect the nomenclature in use at the time the description was written. More

The Bronzed Cowbird is a brood parasite that ranges from the U.S. – Mexico border southward to northern Colombia, occurring in all Central American countries in between. Bronzed Cowbirds are slightly larger than the better known and related Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater); the “average” host of the Bronzed Cowbird is also larger than the “average” host of the Brown-headed Cowbird. More

Bronzed Cowbird behaving in this manner. For, Bronzed Cowbirds, like their northern Brown- headed Cowbird counterparts (they belong to the same genus), are nest parasites. Females lay their eggs in the nests of other species, then the other species rears the earlier-hatching cowbird's young, often to the detriment of their own less offspring. Probably you've seen those pictures of a duped parent feeding a cowbird juvenile much larger than the parent, as at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/conservation/tanager/parasitism.html. More

New Mexico, and Bronzed Cowbird range mapTexas, and locally in southern Louisiana, extending south through central Mexico to Panama. The eastern and western are two distinct populations which overlap in western Texas. Bronzed Cowbird (detail) photo by William Paff Cornell Lab of Ornithology Visual Services slide# 625.1 Breeding habitat Open country with occasional tree patches or large tall shrubs, such as in riparian woodlands. Often found in humid, hot climates, commonly in areas of human habitation as well as where cattle are grazed. More

The Bronzed Cowbird has expanded its range northward during the past century. A slightly larger relative of the Brown-headed Cowbird, the Bronzed Cowbird typically chooses slightly larger host species to parasitize, for it too does not build a nest but instead lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. Sometimes several female Bronzed Cowbirds will gather near the nest of a host species, and some or all of them may end up laying eggs in the same nest. More

Bronzed Cowbird males are entirely black and a bronzy sheen can be seen in proper light. In the breeding season the red eye is prominent. Out of breeding season the eye is orange-brown, but not yellow like the Brewers Blackbird. The males neck ruff will give it a hunch-backed look. Bronzed Cowbird females are dull black, won't show much or any neck ruff and have a orange-brown eye. Bronzed Cowbirds commonly feed and roost in large flocks and are frequent visitors to bird feeders. More

Bronzed Cowbird: Breeds in Arizona, California, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas. Voice Text "glug-glug-glee" Interesting Facts * The Bronzed Cowbird performs spectacular three-part courtship displays incorporating both of their major categories of song. More

Bronzed Cowbirds - female is on the left Hialeah, FL December 2006 More

Bronzed Cowbird Identification Bronzed Cowbird (Molothrus aeneus) * Average size: 8.75 in * Average wingspan: 12 in * Average weight: 1.5 oz * Member of the Blackbird family * Medium-long tail with a stout and pointed bill * Distinctive red eyes in males, females have brownish orange eyes. More

Brown-headed and Bronzed Cowbirds in North America and the Shiny Cowbird in parts of South America and the Caribbean continue to expand their breeding range and numbers. This apparent paradox is explained by the unusual breeding behavior and physiology of Brown-headed Cowbirds (behavior presumably shared by the less-studied Bronzed Cowbirds). A female Brown-headed Cowbird has a long reproductive period with an extraordinarily short interval between clutches. More

Bronzed Cowbird in West Texas and 2 Bill Abnormalities. Southwestern Naturalist. vol 17, no 3. p. 293-295. Ellison K, Sealy SG & Gibbs HL. (2006). Genetic elucidation of host use by individual sympatric bronzed cowbirds (Molothrus aeneus) and brown-headed cowbirds (M-ater). Canadian Journal of Zoology. vol 84, no 9. p. 1269-1280. Flood NJ. (1990). ''Aspects of the Breeding Biology of Audubon's Oriole. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 61, no 3. p. 290-302. Friedmann H. (1971). More

The Bronzed Cowbird (Molothrus aeneus) is a common breeding species across parts of south and west Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. It can also occur in southern California and has been recorded in most of the Gulf Coast states of the southeastern U.S. The species winters in parts of deep south Texas, but primarily in Mexico and Central America. This species, like other cowbirds, is a nest parasite and the females lay their eggs in the nests of other species of birds. More

Bronzed Cowbird 5 - Galveston Co, TX - May Bronzed Cowbird 7 - Starr Co, TX - May Site Navigation More

Bronzed Cowbirds (Molothrus aeneus) are common here in Tucson during the spring and summer. Bronzed Cowbirds are mainly found in Mexico and Central America, but some of them migrate into the southwestern United States in order to breed. Male Bronzed Cowbird (Molothrus aeneus) Even though he is not very black, this Bronzed Cowbird can be recognized as a male because of his red eyes and the ruff at the back of the neck that gives him something of a hunchbacked appearance. More

Notes: Originally from Central America, the Bronzed Cowbird is now abundant/common in southwest Texas and is gradually extending its range north and eastward. It is being spotted with increasing regularity on the Upper Texas Coast. Like the Brown-headed Cowbird, it is a brood parasite, meaning the female lays her eggs in another bird's nest. The foster mother generally does not recognize the difference and cares for the young cowbird as her own, even if it is much larger in size. More

Bronzed Cowbird - Arthur's Camp on the Brazos River. May 5, 2007. Young County, Texas. More

Male Bronzed Cowbirds are famous for their bizarre strutting and hovering "helicopter" flights. I wonder why, here in early November with mating season presumably so far away, this male is puffing out his ruff? Like the similar Brown-headed Cowbirds so abundant throughout most of North America, Bronzed Cowbirds neither raise their own families, nor do individual males and females pair off during the mating season. Bronzed Cowbirds, like their North American cousins, are "brood parasites. More

The Bronzed Cowbird is found along the borders of the Southern States down into Mexico, and the Shiny Cowbird, which is fairly recent to North America, is showing up more and more in the State of Florida. Cowbirds are brood parasites, where the female cowbird will lay her eggs in the nest of other bird species. More