uwmspeccoll:A Starling and Cowbird FeathursdayThe Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) and the Brown-headed C
uwmspeccoll:A Starling and Cowbird FeathursdayThe Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) and the Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) are sometimes considered “problem” birds. The Common Starling, which in America is an invasive species, is brash, aggressive, and prolific, and can have a negative impact on native bird populations. The Brown-headed Cowbird does not raise its own brood but rather parasitizes the nests of smaller birds, often to the detriment of the host’s own brood. Very sneaky. On top of that, Cowbirds periodically check on their eggs and young, and if the parasitic egg has been removed, the Cowbird will engage in retaliatory actions known as “mafia behavior” by ransacking and sometimes completely destroying the host’s nest. Just nasty.Despite the boorish behavior of both species, we just can’t help being delighted when we see them, especially adult male Starlings during breeding season, with their iridescent purples and greens and their long strings of melodic, mechanical, and even liquidly-sounding calls. The image shown here is a reproduction of a 1930 painting by American nature artist Walter Alois Weber from Bird Portraits in Color by the American physician and ornithologist Thomas Sadler Roberts and published by the University of Minnesota Press in the 1934. The birds at top of the painting are a young male Starling (right) and a breeding adult male; at center, a juvenile Starling and a juvenile Cowbird; at bottom, adult male and female Cowbirds. View other posts from Bird Portraits in Color.View more Feathursday posts. -- source link