Brown-headed cowbird

Perched side by side on a bare branch, a male and female brown-headed cowbird catch the warm light of an early summer morning. Males show a glossy black body and a rich brown head, and they are most often seen in open fields, at feeders, and along rural roads. Flocks frequently mix with blackbirds and grackles while foraging on the ground.

Males have a glossy, iridescent black body with a chocolate-brown head, while females are a soft, plain brown. Cowbirds are known for laying their eggs in the nests of other birds, which raise the young as their own. They feed on seeds and insects in fields, pastures, and around feeders, and are common across southern Manitoba in the warmer months. Cowbirds are brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other songbirds, which then raise the chicks as their own.

This is a favourite frame of a male and female brown-headed cowbird, sharing a branch at sunrise.

Photos

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