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The female cowbird may continue to observe this nest after laying eggs. Some bird species have evolved the ability to detect such parasitic eggs, and may reject them by pushing them out of their nests, but the female cowbird has been observed to attack and destroy the remaining eggs of such birds as a consequence, dissuading further removals.
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The brown-headed cowbird is an obligate brood parasite; it lays its eggs in the nests of other small passerines (perching birds), particularly those that build cup-like nests. The brown-headed cowbird eggs have been documented in nests of at least 220 host species, including hummingbirds and raptors.
Female hooded orioles lay a clutch of 3–5 eggs. The eggs are generally white, but can range into a pale blue with darker splotches. The eggs are incubated for 12–14 days, and the nestlings take about 14 days to fledge. This species is also commonly parasitized by the brown-headed cowbird and the bronzed cowbird. [9]
Different host species show different responses to their nests being parasitised, with behaviours ranging from accepting and caring for the cowbird eggs, to rejecting the eggs from the nest. [2] As the shiny cowbird is an effective generalist brood parasite, it can be considered the South American counterpart to the brown-headed cowbird.
The screaming cowbird is a specialist brood parasite, predominantly parasitizing the nests of baywings (Agelaioides). [5] [8] [9] [10] In 1874, W H Hudson was first to observe this parasitic relationship when he witnessed what he believed to be baywing chicks morph into screaming cowbird plumage.
The nest is an open cup with a mud base and lined with moss and grass, built in crevice in a rock or man-made site; two to six eggs are laid. Both parents feed the young and usually raise two broods per year. The eastern phoebe is occasionally host to the nest-parasitic brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater).
Song sparrows' nests are parasitized by the brown-headed cowbird. The cowbirds' eggs closely resemble song sparrows' eggs, although the cowbirds' eggs are slightly larger. Song sparrows recognize cowbirds as a threat and attack the cowbirds when they are near the nest. There is some evidence that this behavior is learned rather than instinctual ...