Cowbird and Warbler

Posted by Steve S on Mon Jan 10, 2005 12:22 am

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Canon EOS3, 4005.6L, 1.4x, Fill Flash

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by stevebein on Mon Jan 10, 2005 2:44 am

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This really shows how they take over. Great behavior photo and something I have never seen personally.

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by Haim Ziv on Mon Jan 10, 2005 4:39 am

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Wonderful shot. Really love it.

[b][color=#0000FF]Haim Ziv - Birds & Wildlife Photography[/color].[/b]
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by LHays on Mon Jan 10, 2005 5:41 am

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I agree...this is a great behavioral shot. I've not seen it in the nest but I wanted to cry when I saw a Cardinal at the feeder.....feeding a cowbird.

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by KK Hui on Mon Jan 10, 2005 7:08 am

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So much is nature ...
Thanks for showing us this great shot, Steve! :roll:

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by Alan Murphy on Mon Jan 10, 2005 10:06 am

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This is a great shot Steve.

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by Harold Stiver on Mon Jan 10, 2005 10:22 am

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Fabulous, Steve. The perfect angle for showing the size difference.

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by AForns on Mon Jan 10, 2005 10:39 am

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Love the image Steve !!!!

I think in a short time the bird is not going to fit

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by Justin C on Mon Jan 10, 2005 10:53 am

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An interesting and well taken behavioral shot.

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by E.J. Peiker on Mon Jan 10, 2005 12:05 pm

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An incredible capture that really illustrates the nature of the Cowbird well.

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by Michael Dossett on Mon Jan 10, 2005 1:32 pm

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Cute birds but kinda sad as well

You didn't happen to get any shots of the parents feeding them as well did you?

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by Chris Kayler on Mon Jan 10, 2005 8:23 pm

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I never knew they took over like this. I though birds would just completely evict other birds/eggs. How does this work? Cowbird lays egg, and warbler actually sits on it, or does the cowbird sit on both eggs? Does the warbler starve/die eventually?

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by Juan E. Bahamon on Tue Jan 11, 2005 11:15 am

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Steve:

Great behavioral picture, it tell the whole story, thanks for sharing.

Juan E. Bahamon
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by Kim Steininger on Tue Jan 11, 2005 1:13 pm

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Excellent behavior shot Steve!

Kim Steininger

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by Steve Mason on Tue Jan 11, 2005 1:57 pm

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Awesome shot, really illustrated a sad fact of nature.

I'm green with envy, as I tried several times for a Cowbird/Yellow Warbler shot last spring. Saw lots of feeding behaviour, but got squat for images.

Steve Mason

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by Steve Mason on Tue Jan 11, 2005 2:04 pm

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Chris Kayler wrote:I never knew they took over like this. I though birds would just completely evict other birds/eggs. How does this work? Cowbird lays egg, and warbler actually sits on it, or does the cowbird sit on both eggs? Does the warbler starve/die eventually?

I did some reading on them last spring, I'm far from an expert, but I seem to recall reading:

The Cowbird doesn't build its own nest, or raise its own young. It lays its egg in a smaller bird (usually a yellow warbler) nest, so the baby Cowbird being bigger and more aggressive usually does quite well.
Sadly, the warblers in the nest usually don't survive.
The good news is that Yellow Warblers will often recognise the invaders egg and will take various measures (like building another layer of nest above it, tossing it out, or abandoning the nest) to deal with them.

Steve Mason

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