Brown-Headed Cowbird, female

Description:

Plain brown, with a finch-like bill. The males are glossy black with brown heads. Cow birds lay their eggs in other birds' nests. The mother cowbird replaces an egg from a songbird's nest with one of her own (cream-colored with brown speckles), and then she is done with parenting it. Some birds will recognize the nest parasite and remove the cowbird egg, but most will raise it along with their own chicks. The cowbird hatches early and grows quickly. It hogs the food and sometimes even pushes its pseudo-siblings out of the nest. Cowbirds parasitize the nests of species their own size or smaller, so sometimes you can see parent songbirds feeding fledgling cowbirds bigger than themselves!

Habitat:

My yard. Pictured perching on porch railing.

Notes:

Birds are not very cooperative for photos!