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Indeed, the two on the feeder had no distinct markings at all — no stripes, wing bars, head markings or other distinctions in their plumages. They were simply two grayish-brown birds with sparrow-like bills.
The problem with cowbirds is that they are what ornithologists term “brood parasites.” Females lay their eggs in the nests of other, usually smaller, birds. The cowbird egg, being larger, settles into the center of the next and receives the most warmth, causing it to hatch earlier than the eggs of the nest builder.
The nestling cowbird is aggressive in demanding food and receives most of it, with the result that the young of the host species starve. This has ecological validity within the original cowbird range.
Originally, the cowbird was a bird of the prairie states; they followed herds of buffalo around,, feeding on insects stirred up by the big mammals and provided service to the buffalo by picking ticks off their backs.
Over the years, cowbirds lost the ability to build their own nests and raise their own young. This makes sense for a bird that follows nomadic herds of buffalo. Birds that nest in the prairie had evolved to cope with cowbird preda> tion; they build cleverly hidden nests on the ground.
As settlers moved west and cleared the land, cowbirds moved east and found many birds that built open nests. There the cowbird laid her eggs, with the result that many warblers, native sparrow and thrushes are raising nothing but cowbirds.
With snow and ice covering natural foods, new species are likely to turn up at the bird feeder. Now, it’s time to write about the big snowstorm of Jan. 25. '
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