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nest of a Yellow Warbler

Brown-headed Cowbird egg
nest of a Yellow Warbler by Stylurus.
This nest contains 3 Yellow Warbler eggs and 1 Brown-headed Cowbird egg. 
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Property#1  Pro User  says:

Very nicely captured. Strange with the one odd egg.

Seen In My Contacts
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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jackiebelmore  Pro User  says:

Poor Yellow Warbler!!! ...Super image!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Stylurus  Pro User  says:

thanks, Property#1 and jackiebelmore

This evening, I also found a Chipping Sparrow nest with 4 Chipping Sparrow eggs and 1 Brown-headed Cowbird egg. I didn't take a picture since the female sparrow was quite upset with me.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Don Delaney  Pro User  says:

I love this image that shows so clearly this aspect of avian evolution. I have been keeeping close tabs on a Yellow Warbler nest as well. Glad to say 4 robust and well-tended warblers (only) hatched out.

Your work has inspired me!!
You are INVITED to post it in...

The Nature Group
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Stylurus  Pro User  says:

thanks, Don
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Herzkasper says:

Wonderful, thanks for sharing this rare view!

The Nature Group
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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jeff-o-matic says:

Excellent capture, and I am impressed that you know the birds that laid them, especially the cowbird!

The Nature Group
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Stylurus  Pro User  says:

thanks, Herzkasper , kenden<3bob (The Cat) , and jeff-o-matic

I found this nest since the female flew off as I walked by this dogwood. I peered in and found the nest. The cowbird egg is quite different from its host's eggs.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Benimoto  Pro User  says:

Very interesting. I'd heard that the cowbird was a brood parasite, but never seen the evidence.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Stylurus  Pro User  says:

Benimoto , right now you can find many species feeding young Brown-headed Cowbirds
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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hullaballoo2  Pro User  says:

So... did you remove the intruder or leave it??? I would have a dilemma with that, knowing that it's generally not good to interfere... but, having heard that cowbirds do this to push out the host family's young, it doesn't seem quite fair either!
:-(
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Stylurus  Pro User  says:

hullaballoo2 , the egg was left in the nest. Removing the egg is actually illegal since Brown-headed Cowbirds are protected. They have quite the interesting reproduction strategy with this nest dumping.
nuthatch.typepad.com/ba/2005/12/problems_with _c.html
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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hullaballoo2  Pro User  says:

... so they have the reputation of being thugs and they're protected, who knew? (not me anyways!) Thanks for the link, pretty interesting stuff - particularly the comments about species adapting and rejecting the intruder's egg. I hadn't heard about that aspect before.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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Stylurus  Pro User  says:

hullaballoo2 , some of the species that have multiple broods will be cowbird-free on their 2nd or 3rd brood since some the cowbirds generally deposit their eggs earlier in the nesting season
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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tracydekalb  Pro User  says:

Nice pic. The cowbird egg is very similar to the others, almost doesn't look out of place for the mommy to figure out.
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

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Cornell Lab of Ornithology  Pro User  says:

This photo appears on All About Birds, a free online bird guide from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Thank you for Birdsharing, and for helping people learn about birds.
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

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view photos Uploaded on June 28, 2008
by Stylurus

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