Vertebrate Zoology

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. A Dictionary of Zoology Further reading

cowbird

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

cowbird New World bird of the blackbird and oriole (hangnest) family. The male eastern, or common, cowbird is glossy black, about 8 in. (20 cm) long, with a brown head and breast; the female is gray. Most cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of smaller bird species, victimizing especially vireos, sparrows, and flycatchers. Sometimes the alien egg is ejected or buried under a new nest floor or the nest is abandoned, but usually the host bird incubates the egg and feeds the voracious intruder while its smaller offspring are starved or crowded out. Cowbirds eat seeds but feed chiefly on insects, following behind grazing cattle in order to capture the insects stirred up in this way—hence the name cowbird and the earlier name buffalo bird. Related birds are the bronzed, the California, the dwarf, the Nevada, and the red-eyed cowbirds. Cowbirds are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Passeriformes, family Icteridae.

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cowbirds

A Dictionary of Zoology | 1999 | | Copyright

cowbirds See ICTERIDAE.

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MICHAEL ALLABY. "cowbirds." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MICHAEL ALLABY. "cowbirds." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-cowbirds.html

MICHAEL ALLABY. "cowbirds." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-cowbirds.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Cowbirds get head start with egg tricks. (research showing how cowbirds... Magazine article from: Science News; 2/28/1998
	Management of Cowbirds and Their Hosts: Balancing Science, Ethics, and... Magazine article from: The Wilson Journal of Ornithology; 12/1/2007
	INFREQUENT COWBIRD PARASITISM ON COMMON GRACKLES REVISITED: NEW RECORDS FROM... Magazine article from: Wilson Bulletin; 3/1/2001