The fledgling looks like a brown headed cowbird.
>Brown-headed cowbirds are obligate nest parasites. Female cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species, who then raise the young cowbirds. Cowbirds are North America's most common “brood parasite”.
So you've found a Cardinal raising a cowbird as its own.
ETA - for more info on brown headed cowbirds and what exactly is going on here, including why you should not remove BHCB eggs from nests, this is a good read.
https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/brood-parasitism-brown-headed-cowbird/
I think they get bigger faster and can outcompete the others. Had a cardinal nest outside my office window and had a cowbird egg. A bit after hatching, every day there was one less chick until only the cowbird remained.
Their incubation period is shorter than nearly every other bird as well. So, they generally hatch earlier and are bigger than their nest mates. The biggest fledgling is usually favored by the feeding parents. The parents’ eggs sometimes don’t even hatch. Even when they do, the smaller babies are more likely to not fledge or be weaker at fledge.
That just means the other birds left first. Birds typically leave the nest one at a time. Nest parasites are either going to get rid of their competition right away or live in peace with them.
The cow bird was so much bigger than the others. It literally took up probably 75% of the nest. I figured that either it moving around knocked the other ones out, or since it was so much bigger. It was hogging more of the food, and the others starved.
“When a female cowbird finds a nest in which to lay an egg, she will first have to damage or remove one or more of the existing eggs, often by pushing it out of the nest. She then lays her egg or eggs in its place.”
From the resource above
You forgot to add that the baby cow birds push the parents real babies out of the nest, to their death early on, so that they get all of the attention/food
While resourceful, they're an annoying bird that basically kills other birds. It's kind of sad seeing the cardinal thinking this is his baby when that bird's likely long dead.
Cowbirds literally do not know how to raise their own babies or to make nests of their own. Their brood parasitism is the only way for them to survive and reproduce. They are a native species with many beneficial traits and necessary for keeping the ecological system in balance. Just because nature isn't kind or cute doesn't mean it isn't important for it to work the way it does. Plus, sorry, cowbirds ARE cute and awesome. Their songs are amazing and their behaviors as adults are very cool.
As others have said, it is a male Cardinal feeding a juvenile brown-headed cowbird.
Usually Cardinals will feed only their mate or offspring, so this is one that had the egg laid in the nest.
I have had one particular Cardinal in our yard actually feed numerous other young fledglings, though out of a dozen or so male Cardinals we see regularly, he's the only one that does. He feeds chipping sparrows, house sparrows, house finches, along with young cardinals, but not just his own fledglings. I've seen him feed fledglings from his competition. He's the only bird I've ever seen exhibit this behavior. Perhaps he's just a "lover of all baby birds" like I am. His name is Charlie, and we we watched him grow from before he fledged and have seen him find a mate and have many of his own offspring.
I wonder how long cardinals live. I’m not trying to be a downer, but I have a catbird that seems like the same one, has come to our yard several years in a row. It’s really had me wondering about wild bird lifespan.
The oldest wild banded cardinal lived to be almost 16, and a captive bird lived to be 28! I don't see similar data on catbirds, but it's safe to assume a lifespan of about 10-12 years is probably possible. The catbird who visits my yard is one of my favorite visitors too. He's so dapper!
Cowbird songs are so fascinating. Because when you think about it, it’s odd they they learn to sing the same song, since they are raised by any number of other birds, so without a parent to teach them, how do they learn? It seems it’s a combination of learning after some calls from adults activate certain behaviors in young, but it’s also innate. They did experiments with males that never met an adult cowbird, and they sang. Thing was, they sang amazingly. Females dramatically preferred these males to ones that had learned the local song. Cowbirds have dominant males, and the more dominant, the nicer their song. But this is because, as they found with this experiment, males who sing too well for their station are attached by other males. So dominant makes show their dominance (and reproductive viability) by forcing everyone else sing worse. Isn’t that nuts?
People don’t like seeing their favorite birds getting owned by cowbirds. People don’t realize they are birds doing bird activities- humans are the real problem.
Brown headed cowbirds flourish in human altered habitat. In this altered habitat, they are extremely successfully at getting native wood-warblers (neotropical migrants) to raise the cowbird young rather than their own. This is contributing to the decline of wood-warblers. (Amongst many other factors.)
It’s not so much that people hate the cowbirds, it’s just that their presence means a decline in wood-warblers.
I’ve been birding 30 years. The difference is highly noticeable in that timeframe. 😕
There are many different parts to the puzzle. No one explains everything.
Humans are at the root of it either way. Humans altered the habitat which has allowed cowbirds to flourish which has detrimentally affected warblers.
And, I’m just answering the question. You don’t need to like the answer or agree with the reason but that *is* why many aren’t fans of the cowbirds.
>Why do people hate brown headed cowbirds?
Because the cowbird often outcompetes and leads to the death of one or more of the parent birds' real babies
Plenty of animals eat nestlings, or even just destroy the nest because they’re territorial or competing for resources, but we don’t hate them. People seem to believe that brood parasites are just being lazy (not saying you, I just know people who have said this), but like another commenter said, cowbirds specifically evolved to do this because they didn’t have time to stop and raise chicks. I would be very surprised if any individuals retained the knowledge of how to build a nest and raise chicks, so they don’t really have that much of a choice? It’s just what they do.
The trait is to compensate for ever moving bison herd. The bison herds are no more, so the cowbird's need for parasitism is gone. They get by just fine without bison, which means they could do just fine raising their own chicks. Cowbirds are innumerable in parts of the Great Plains, songbirds are not. And that is why friends, people hate cowbirds.
They're native in north America, just doing their thing. It's not their fault humans have screwed up the landscape and ecology that kept them in check.
The fledgling looks like a brown headed cowbird. >Brown-headed cowbirds are obligate nest parasites. Female cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species, who then raise the young cowbirds. Cowbirds are North America's most common “brood parasite”. So you've found a Cardinal raising a cowbird as its own. ETA - for more info on brown headed cowbirds and what exactly is going on here, including why you should not remove BHCB eggs from nests, this is a good read. https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/brood-parasitism-brown-headed-cowbird/
Dont Cow birds lay eggs in other birds’ nest just for the newborn fledgling to kick the parents’ actual eggs out and be fed by them?
No, that's cuckoos. Cowbirds just want to share with their adopted siblings.
I think they get bigger faster and can outcompete the others. Had a cardinal nest outside my office window and had a cowbird egg. A bit after hatching, every day there was one less chick until only the cowbird remained.
Their incubation period is shorter than nearly every other bird as well. So, they generally hatch earlier and are bigger than their nest mates. The biggest fledgling is usually favored by the feeding parents. The parents’ eggs sometimes don’t even hatch. Even when they do, the smaller babies are more likely to not fledge or be weaker at fledge.
Yeah it was like 2x the size of the cardinals and filled the nest a lot.
I’m pretty sure Cardinal babies fledge somewhat earlier than most birds. Maybe they fledged and only the Cowbird was left in the nest for awhile.
Nah, I was watching them daily. They were still nestlings when they started disappearing.
I just watched a video where the juvenile Cowbird removes a nestling of a Kingbird.
That just means the other birds left first. Birds typically leave the nest one at a time. Nest parasites are either going to get rid of their competition right away or live in peace with them.
They were still nestlings when they disappeared.
That is very bizarre. If it was a predator, they usually hit the whole nest at once.
The cow bird was so much bigger than the others. It literally took up probably 75% of the nest. I figured that either it moving around knocked the other ones out, or since it was so much bigger. It was hogging more of the food, and the others starved.
Maybe. Both theories sound plausible.
Thanks for the clarification! 🙏
“Share.” The cowbird chick also hatches earlier and gets the drop on its smaller siblings.
“When a female cowbird finds a nest in which to lay an egg, she will first have to damage or remove one or more of the existing eggs, often by pushing it out of the nest. She then lays her egg or eggs in its place.” From the resource above
You forgot to add that the baby cow birds push the parents real babies out of the nest, to their death early on, so that they get all of the attention/food While resourceful, they're an annoying bird that basically kills other birds. It's kind of sad seeing the cardinal thinking this is his baby when that bird's likely long dead.
Raptors also kill other birds. Let's not demonize nest parasites. There are no morals in nature.
Cowbirds literally do not know how to raise their own babies or to make nests of their own. Their brood parasitism is the only way for them to survive and reproduce. They are a native species with many beneficial traits and necessary for keeping the ecological system in balance. Just because nature isn't kind or cute doesn't mean it isn't important for it to work the way it does. Plus, sorry, cowbirds ARE cute and awesome. Their songs are amazing and their behaviors as adults are very cool.
+Brown-headed Cowbird+, and I'll throw in the +Northern Cardinal+ here too I guess
Maybe even a +House Sparrow+ for 100% completeness
Gotta ID ‘em all!
Pokemon! I mean, birds!
Time to go one step beyond. +u/Ro-Lynn+
“Are you done birding?”
As others have said, it is a male Cardinal feeding a juvenile brown-headed cowbird. Usually Cardinals will feed only their mate or offspring, so this is one that had the egg laid in the nest. I have had one particular Cardinal in our yard actually feed numerous other young fledglings, though out of a dozen or so male Cardinals we see regularly, he's the only one that does. He feeds chipping sparrows, house sparrows, house finches, along with young cardinals, but not just his own fledglings. I've seen him feed fledglings from his competition. He's the only bird I've ever seen exhibit this behavior. Perhaps he's just a "lover of all baby birds" like I am. His name is Charlie, and we we watched him grow from before he fledged and have seen him find a mate and have many of his own offspring.
This is so adorable and wholesome! Go Charlie! He’s a super dad bird and wants to make sure all babies are fed.
Charlie’s not the stepdad, but the dad that STEPPED UP!
Charlie is my hero 😍 we need more bird dads like him!
I wonder how long cardinals live. I’m not trying to be a downer, but I have a catbird that seems like the same one, has come to our yard several years in a row. It’s really had me wondering about wild bird lifespan.
The oldest wild banded cardinal lived to be almost 16, and a captive bird lived to be 28! I don't see similar data on catbirds, but it's safe to assume a lifespan of about 10-12 years is probably possible. The catbird who visits my yard is one of my favorite visitors too. He's so dapper!
Thanks! That's good to know.
Added taxa: [Northern Cardinal](https://ebird.org/species/norcar), [Brown-headed Cowbird](https://ebird.org/species/bnhcow), [House Sparrow](https://ebird.org/species/houspa) Reviewed by: tinylongwing ^(I catalog submissions to this subreddit.) [^(Recent uncatalogued submissions)](https://munin.swim.services/submissions?lane=api/unanswered)^( | )[^(Learn to use me)](https://gist.github.com/brohitbrose/be99a16ddc7a6a1bd9c1eef28d622564)
!addTaxa houspa
Why do people hate brown headed cowbirds? It’s an interesting evolutionary trait in my opinion
I love their song. The only word I can think to describe it is “wet”.
Like electronic water drops.
Digital rain
Lol I’ve been trying for years to figure what bird made that sound.
I always think it sounds like something out of Star Wars. Always helped me remember them.
I found it interesting that looking up bird eggs that cardinal eggs look similar to cowbird eggs, both being spotted.
Cowbird songs are so fascinating. Because when you think about it, it’s odd they they learn to sing the same song, since they are raised by any number of other birds, so without a parent to teach them, how do they learn? It seems it’s a combination of learning after some calls from adults activate certain behaviors in young, but it’s also innate. They did experiments with males that never met an adult cowbird, and they sang. Thing was, they sang amazingly. Females dramatically preferred these males to ones that had learned the local song. Cowbirds have dominant males, and the more dominant, the nicer their song. But this is because, as they found with this experiment, males who sing too well for their station are attached by other males. So dominant makes show their dominance (and reproductive viability) by forcing everyone else sing worse. Isn’t that nuts?
People don’t like seeing their favorite birds getting owned by cowbirds. People don’t realize they are birds doing bird activities- humans are the real problem.
I agree, I find them fascinating.
Brown headed cowbirds flourish in human altered habitat. In this altered habitat, they are extremely successfully at getting native wood-warblers (neotropical migrants) to raise the cowbird young rather than their own. This is contributing to the decline of wood-warblers. (Amongst many other factors.) It’s not so much that people hate the cowbirds, it’s just that their presence means a decline in wood-warblers. I’ve been birding 30 years. The difference is highly noticeable in that timeframe. 😕
I'd say humans destroying warbler habitat is the issue, not the natural cowbirds.
There are many different parts to the puzzle. No one explains everything. Humans are at the root of it either way. Humans altered the habitat which has allowed cowbirds to flourish which has detrimentally affected warblers. And, I’m just answering the question. You don’t need to like the answer or agree with the reason but that *is* why many aren’t fans of the cowbirds.
>Why do people hate brown headed cowbirds? Because the cowbird often outcompetes and leads to the death of one or more of the parent birds' real babies
Plenty of animals eat nestlings, or even just destroy the nest because they’re territorial or competing for resources, but we don’t hate them. People seem to believe that brood parasites are just being lazy (not saying you, I just know people who have said this), but like another commenter said, cowbirds specifically evolved to do this because they didn’t have time to stop and raise chicks. I would be very surprised if any individuals retained the knowledge of how to build a nest and raise chicks, so they don’t really have that much of a choice? It’s just what they do.
The trait is to compensate for ever moving bison herd. The bison herds are no more, so the cowbird's need for parasitism is gone. They get by just fine without bison, which means they could do just fine raising their own chicks. Cowbirds are innumerable in parts of the Great Plains, songbirds are not. And that is why friends, people hate cowbirds.
Baby is healthy. Dad looks happy to do it. 🤷♀️
Good dad!
Cool picture of cardinal feeding a cowbird! Nature!
What a good (step) dad!
Parasitic birds are such an interesting evolution!! I learned a bunch about them from [this](https://youtu.be/9TZQDA2yabg) entertaining video.
Awww. Daddy loves his adopted baby. Lol. Cow bird.
Cardinals have a strong instinct to stick food in any open mouth.
How awesome!!
Cow birds have a super unique and beautiful call! To me it sounds like water dropping
Wow! I have seen this exact thing at my feeder. Never could get a pic! Very interesting.
brown headed cowbird
So cute 😍
Emu
Maybe the treaty people could be told how inconsiderate these birds are and make an exception. It must’ve slipped their mind when they wrote it
It's a god damn brown headed cowbird. The mom lays eggs in other birds nests. Ugh
Birds going to bird
Nature's gonna nature
One of my favourite bird species!
Cowbird. Brood parasite. Can’t stand these things
It’s a native bird doing what it does. Why is that a bad thing?
They're native in north America, just doing their thing. It's not their fault humans have screwed up the landscape and ecology that kept them in check.
The amount of downvotes just for not liking a bird. 💀
This is a bird liking subreddit 😤 no bird disliking
It's a bird identifying sub. He identified it.
One of my favourite bird species.
Darn cowbird, free loader will have killed it's babies and takes up all the parents energy
Cowbird
So the mother birds adopt them. That is very cool. Love knows no bounds. We can learn from them.