American Robin and Brown-headed Cowbird question (1 Viewer)

[YellowBudgie]

Hello Everyone,

During the summer we normally see a cluster of American Robin eggs on the ground a few times during the season.

This summer I saw the likely suspect of the lost eggs. I have a platform feeder near a window where the dominant male and female Robin like to grab a few raisins, dried cranberries, etc.

One day a Robin landed to feed at the platform and a Brown-headed Cowbird landed right after the Robin and followed as the Robin left. This was the first time I've seen a Cowbird following another bird.

I thought to myself how stressed out the Robin must feel being tailed by the Cowbird and worse if the Robin has an instinct of what the Cowbird is about to do.

A cluster of Robin eggs were found on the lawn a day or two later.

Knowing how territorial Robins are may there be such a fight between a Robin and a Cowbird where all eggs in the nest get thrown out in a fight? If things went wrong for the Cowbird would it try to remove the Robin eggs to cause the robins to start another clutch of eggs?

Thanks!

 

[brettski]

Cowbirds don't build a nest, preferring to lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. The strange and comical outcome is baby cowbirds being fed by a different bird. I remember seeing this cowbird towering over a sparrow mother, fluttering it's wings and begging as the mother sparrow fed it. Very odd.

 

[YellowBudgie]

Thanks Brettski,

I wonder if there's a cowbird web cam out there. It would be interesting to watch a different species raising a cowbird chick.

I know the basics on cowbird activity. I have read since my post that American Robins are aware of Cowbirds and will usually reject the cowbird eggs. I'm wondering what may have caused a clutch of robin eggs to end up on the ground knowing the local mated pair were being followed by a cowbird.

When I saw my first Chipping Sparrow I read these tiny sparrows were frequent to cowbird parasitism. I took some photos of Chipping Sparrows last year in a friends yard. I'll look for a few photos and post them. It's hard to imagine them raising a cowbird chick.

See ya!

Dana

 

[YellowBudgie]

Hello,

Here's a few photos of a Chipping Sparrow. There's a whole peanut in one of the photos, it put their size into perspective. Cute little birds.

Happy Birding!

Dana

 

[Lisa W]

Dana,
You might find this article interesting. We have a lot of Cowbirds at our feeders now, and I'm sure will have many cowbird chicks being raised by finches and sparrows shortly.

 

[YellowBudgie]

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for the link on the article.

I rarely see Cowbirds in the yard. They are very weary of human contact here. More so than any other bird I've seen at the feeders. Do you notice the same where you are?

See ya,

Dana

 

[Lisa W]

Dana,
We don't see much of them except in Spring and Summer. I can probably count 20 or so every time I look at the bird feeders and nearby bushes right now. They enjoy the feeders - but only seem to stick around for breeding season - thankfully because they are little pigs. Once the season is over they tend to head back to the cows or wherever, just to pop up the next year. Here's a close-up of one I took the other day. Ours look slightly different than the eastern Brown-headed Cowbirds, but they are.
Lisa