Brown-headed Cowbird And Blue Jays

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I have often mentioned and posted photos of the Blue Jays that are always around but there are some birds that stay awhile and then fly off to greener pastures.

I was delighted to see this male brown-headed cowbird make a stop on it’s way back from the Southern U.S. or Mexico. It only stayed a few days and then went on it’s way. There are no cows on this property but I was wondering if it went to the Buffaloland where there is a herd of over 6o buffalo for the cowbird to follow. Buffaloland is about a mile from my house.

The Brown-headed Cowbird seems to be comfortable in the company of the Blue Jays.

The cowbird forages mostly by walking on the ground. Often associates with cattle or horses in pastures, catching the insects flushed from the grass by the grazing animals. Originally, was closely associated with bison herds on the Great Plains.
Source

Scientific facts about the cowbird;

The brown-headed cowbird is a small, obligate brood parasitic icterid native to temperate and subtropical North America. It is a permanent resident in the southern parts of its range; northern birds migrate to the southern United States and Mexico in winter, returning to their summer habitat around March or April. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Molothrus ater
Family: Icteridae
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Phylum: Chordata
Kingdom: Animalia
Source

It is truly amazing to me how smart these birds are. For example, the cowbird is called parasitic because they will not build a nest but the female will put her energy into producing eggs and lay the eggs in other birds’ nests, often pushing the other bird’s eggs out. Their babies would then be raised by the host bird.

The Blue Jays didn’t seem to mind the Cowbird. Here they are peacefully eating the seeds I put out each morning.

The beautiful colored Blue Jays stay here all year through snow, rain and the heat of summer. They are my best photogenic birds and don’t mind striking a pose. This one is enjoying a peanut on the deck railing. I had left the peanut for the chipmunk but the sharp-eyed Blue Jay snatched it up first.

The male Brown-headed Cowbird was only passing through and stopped for a few days. The female is also a sturdy blackbird but doesn’t have the brown head and it’s plumage is a plain brown color. I did see her but at the time but didn’t realize it was the female and never got a photo...maybe next time.

Location: Prince Edward Island, Canada

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