Re: COWBIRDS....SHUDDER & nest predation

["Matthew Troutman" <m_troutman@hotmail.com>]

<<<Plus, I have never seen a cowbird eat anything as big as a bird chick 
( I hardly see them eat animals!).>>>

<<Whoops! This is slipping away a bit.  Pat didn't say the chicks were 
eaten only that they had been ejected, I think.  The eating part was 
total speculation on my part.>>

My point still stands, regardless.  

Just so everybody knows what a cowbird is, let me go through a brief 
description.  

Molothrus ater.  Family: Icteridae ( blackbirds, meadowlarks, orioles).  
Black iridescent bird.  

Prominent nest parasite which lays its eggs in over 200 species nests. 
Some host species eject the eggs, some add another nest lining over the 
egg, most rear the chick as its own.  One of the more popular species 
for how they became parasites involves bison; they used to follow bison 
herds and they had no time to waste energy on nesting.  

Matt Troutman

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