Planet of Birds

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) Science Article 13 abstract The Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) is anative North American icterid and the most commonobligate interspecific brood parasite in North America.Brood parasites lay their eggs in the nests of other birdspecies and all parental care, including incubation andfeeding is provided by the host species. The matingsystem of the […]

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) Science Article 4 abstract In this study, I tested whether the courtship behaviours that facilitate patterns of assortative pairing andmating could be culturally transmitted across generations of brown-headed cowbirds. In an earlier study,I housed a first generation of young South Dakota cowbirds in one of two cultural backgrounds: (1) withadult social […]

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) Science Article 10 abstract The incidence of brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds(Molothrus ater; herea er ‘cowbirds’) within host species typically refl ects thecontinental pa ern in cowbird abundance across North America, where parasitismis heaviest in the Great Plains. However, we found considerable variation incowbird parasitism on Dickcissel (Spiza americana) nests within […]

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) Science Article 3 abstract Previous work has shown that captive female cowbirds, Molothrus ater, can influence the outcome of malesong development by affecting retention or deletion of song elements and by stimulating improvization.Here we looked for evidence of female influence during the process of learning, as males progress fromsubsong to plastic […]

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) Science Article 11 abstract We characterized several equivocal aspects of the breeding biology of the broodparasitic Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) at a study site in northeastern Illinois. Atotal of 175 offspring and a partial sample of parents were sampled and genotyped at sixmicrosatellite loci. A combination of sibling-group and parentage assignment […]

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) Science Article 18 abstract The breeding seasons of birds are usually timed so that the young are reared during aperiod of abundant food. At high latitudes nearly all small birds may nest within a weekor two of each other. In warmer temperate climates where plants grow and insects areactive for several […]

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) Science Article 9 abstract From May through July, 1993-1998 and 2001, effects of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism on 36 Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) nests were documented in southwest Colorado. Overall parasitism was 75.0% and was the major source of nest failure. Among vireo nests that were not depredated, a significantly […]

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) Science Article 20 abstract Females of the brood-parasitic brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) search for host nests in which to lay their eggs. Females normally return to lay a singe egg from one to several days after first locating a potential host nest and lay up to 40 eggs in a breeding […]

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) Science Article 16 abstract Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) have parasitized at least 220 species of birds, of DONALD H. WOLFE, Wilson Bull., 106(4), 1994, pp. 764-766 Download article download full text (pdf)

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) Science Article 15 abstract I studied patterns of cowbird parasitism and responses to this parasitism by Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii) in Kansas. Bell’s Vireos abandoned parasitized nests at a significantly higher rate than unparasitized nests. Lower probability of brood parasitism later in the season may help make abandonment followed by renesting […]