Cowbird
1428324
210506754
2008-05-06T05:28:02Z
Jimfbleak
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Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/72.28.51.43|72.28.51.43]] ([[User talk:72.28.51.43|talk]]) to last version by Eubot
{{Taxobox
| name = Cowbirds
| image = Molothrus ater1.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Female ''M. ater''
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Bird|Aves]]
| ordo = [[Passeriformes]]
| familia = [[Icteridae]]
| genus = '''''Molothrus'''''
| genus_authority = [[William Swainson|Swainson]], 1832
| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
| subdivision =
* ''[[Screaming Cowbird|M. rufoaxillaris]]''
* ''[[Giant Cowbird|M. oryzivorus]]''
* ''[[Bronzed Cowbird|M.s aeneus]]''
* ''[[Shiny Cowbird|M. bonariensis]]''
* ''[[Brown-headed Cowbird|M. ater]]''
}}
'''Cowbirds''' are [[bird]]s belonging to the genus '''''Molothrus''''' in the family [[Icteridae]]. They are [[Brood parasite|brood parasitic]] [[New World]] birds which are unrelated to the [[Old World]] [[cuckoo]]s, one of which, the [[Common Cuckoo]] is the best-known brood parasitic bird.
This family includes five species of cowbirds that form the natural genus ''Molothrus''. This has been determined by [[phylogenetic]] analyses of [[mitochondrial DNA]] sequences (Lanyon 1992, Johnson and Lanyon 1999, Lanyon and Omland 1999, in Lowther, 2004).
The genus ''Molothrus'' includes:
* [[Screaming Cowbird]], ''Molothrus rufoaxillaris''
* [[Giant Cowbird]], ''Molothrus oryzivorus'' (formerly in ''Scaphidura'')
* [[Bronzed Cowbird]], ''Molothrus aeneus''
* [[Shiny Cowbird]], ''Molothrus bonariensis''
* [[Brown-headed Cowbird]], ''Molothrus ater''
The non-brood parasitic [[Bay-winged Cowbird]] was formerly placed here; it is now ''Agelaioides badius''.
These birds feed on [[insect]]s, including the large numbers that may be stirred up by [[cattle]]. In order for the birds to remain mobile and stay with the herd, they have adapted by laying their eggs in other birds' nests. The cowbird will watch for when its host lays eggs, and when the nest is left unattended, the female will come in and lay its own eggs.
The cowbird eggs do not look much different from the hosts' eggs, and the host will normally incubate the eggs. The cowbird chicks grow quickly, and may consume most of the food the host brings. If starvation does not kill the other birds, in some species the cowbird will use its large size to push the other chicks out of the nest. The Giant Cowbird does not appear to harm its host [[oropendola]] or [[cacique (bird)|cacique]] chicks.
<gallery>
Image:malecowbird.jpg|Brown-headed Cowbird, adult male
Image:cowbirdsincourtship.jpg|Brown-headed Cowbird, courtship behavior
</gallery>
==References==<!-- Auk117:847 -->
* Jaramillo and Burke, ''New World Blackbirds'' ISBN 0-7136-4333-1
* [http://www.psych.upenn.edu/~whitedj/lab/index.htm The White Laboratory of Animal Behavior, University of Pennsylvania]
* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/familia.phtml?idFamilia=203 Cowbird videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
[[Category:Brood parasites]]
[[Category:Molothrus|*]]
[[Category:Genera of birds]]
[[de:Kuhstärlinge]]
[[es:Molothrus]]
[[fr:Molothrus]]
[[lt:Karviaganiai]]