[cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds revisited

[Peter Saracino]

"The female cowbird lays up to 40 eggs in one summer, which explains why
there are 214 species of birds known to have been parasitized."
"Naturally Curious A Photographic Guide and Month-by-Month Journey through
the Fields, Woods, and Marshes of New England."
By Mary Holland
Pete Sar

--

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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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Re: "Juvenile cowbirds sneak out at night" - RE: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[Dave Nutter]

Thanks, Anne, for clearing that up. It’s much less bizarre that the fledglings, 
after being old enough fly well, move out of the host territory at dusk to 
roost, but still fascinating because it’s not clear why they should leave if 
they are only going back again in the morning. Maybe they don’t know the 
boundaries, or maybe it’s a bit of exploration, seeking out places where they 
might feed on their own later on. When they return by day to the host 
territory, do they continue to be fed by the hosts?

- - Dave Nutter

> On Apr 12, 2020, at 10:14 AM, AB Clark  wrote:
>  the FLEDGLINGS (juveniles that have left the nest and are flying, at about 
> 10-20 days old) are often leaving on their own, at dusk, to ROOST (sit in the 
> dark) away from their foster-parents territories, but still returning to 
> those territories in daytime.
> 

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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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Re: "Juvenile cowbirds sneak out at night" - RE: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[Regi Teasley]

“Young Cowbirds won’t you come out tonight? Come out tonight? Come out 
tonight
And dance by the light of the moon.” 


Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone 
or weary of life.  Rachel Carson.


> On Apr 12, 2020, at 4:47 PM, Magnus Fiskesjo  
> wrote:
> 
> 
> Thanks! Yes Indeed it seems that in the 2015 study, cowbird youngsters 
> (*fledglings*) were *spending the night away* from their slave parents and 
> then return *not* to the *nest* but to the foster parents' location -- for 
> more slave feeding. This scenario does make more sense, yes, so it may well 
> be I misremembered about the *nest* part. The *fledglings* going out on their 
> own would also resolve, perhaps, John Confer's points of doubt about body 
> temperature. 
> 
> But note, that we are not up to date, yet -- the 2015 publication was 
> apparently superseded by new research which expanded, to discover the 
> "teenager party" as reported in Living Bird, I believe some time in 2017-2019 
> -- that is, about young cowbirds *not* sitting in the dark (which makes 
> little or no sense, to me, at least! why would they do that?), but hanging 
> out with young cowbird peers which would enable them to build cowbirdness. To 
> me it looks like this additional discovery was not yet made in 2015 -- so in 
> that study they mistakenly concluded that the young cowbird was sitting alone 
> in the dark, instead of going to his peer party. 
> 
> If I do find it again, I'll forward it. 
> 
> --If anyone on this list has a digital copy already, please post a copy. 
> 
> Many thanks again, over and out for now, 
> Magnus
> --
> Magnus Fiskesjö, PhD
> Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Cornell University
> McGraw Hall, Room 201. Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
> E-mail: magnus.fiske...@cornell.edu, or: n...@cornell.edu
> 
> From: AB Clark [anneb.cl...@gmail.com]
> Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2020 10:14 AM
> To: Magnus Fiskesjo
> Cc: John Confer; CAYUGABIRDS-L
> Subject: Re: "Juvenile cowbirds sneak out at night" - RE: [cayugabirds-l] 
> Cowbirds
> 
> At the risk of making this a longer-than-wanted discussion, I will briefly 
> answer—and then retreat!
> 
> I just read Magnus’  report on Louder et al’s study from U Illinois and 
> downloaded the actual paper and here is the story.  No one is leaving at 3 
> am!  Or flying out of a nest as a nestling.  Too much fine grained 
> terminology is leading to misunderstandings, but it is a fascinating paper.
> 
> SO—the question that the researchers were interested in was whether actual 
> biological mothers of young cowbirds were somehow leading their own 
> fledglings away from the Host-parents territory.  The answer is NO.  But the 
> FLEDGLINGS (juveniles that have left the nest and are flying, at about 10-20 
> days old) are often leaving on their own, at dusk, to ROOST (sit in the dark) 
> away from their foster-parents territories, but still returning to those 
> territories in daytime.
> 
> The confusions come in because they put the little radios on the cowbird 
> young on about the last day when they were still in their host-nests as 
> NESTLINGS, but the observations they report were all on FLEDGLINGS, young 
> that had left their nests, never to return.  In Icterids, nestlings do not 
> leave flighted, but they can flutter and can cling and climb with strong well 
> developed legs.  From what I remember, young cowbirds develop a little faster 
> than some.  So maybe they fly as early as 5-6 days after fledging—I have to 
> check.
> 
> But it is during the later FLEDGLING stage, out of the nests and mobile, that 
> they start to disappear off foster-territory in the evening.  Sunset isn’t 
> dark, so they can still move easily;  apparently motivated by whatever gets a 
> cowbird to become a cowbird, they often left to roost alone, during the next 
> 3 weeks of still being associated with foster-parents during the day.  And 
> their non-doting cowbird mothers don’t have anything to do with it, because 
> they were also being tracked by radios and triangulating receiver towers, and 
> mom-cowbirds were not present during these movements.
> 
> Did it bring juvenile cowbirds into contact with other cowbirds?  Apparently 
> not, at that stage.  But the “go away, young man/cowbird” urge was already 
> present.
> 
> 
> So thanks, Magnus, for bringing our attention to this really interesting 
> report!  (I can send it to anyone who wants to read it!)
> 
> Anne
> 
> Anne B Clark
> 147 Hile School Rd
> Freeville, NY 13068
> 607-222-0905
> anneb.cl...@gmail.com<mailto:anneb.cl...@gmail.com>
> 
> 
> 
> On Apr 11, 

RE: "Juvenile cowbirds sneak out at night" - RE: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[Magnus Fiskesjo]

Thanks! Yes Indeed it seems that in the 2015 study, cowbird youngsters 
(*fledglings*) were *spending the night away* from their slave parents and then 
return *not* to the *nest* but to the foster parents' location -- for more 
slave feeding. This scenario does make more sense, yes, so it may well be I 
misremembered about the *nest* part. The *fledglings* going out on their own 
would also resolve, perhaps, John Confer's points of doubt about body 
temperature. 

But note, that we are not up to date, yet -- the 2015 publication was 
apparently superseded by new research which expanded, to discover the "teenager 
party" as reported in Living Bird, I believe some time in 2017-2019 -- that is, 
about young cowbirds *not* sitting in the dark (which makes little or no sense, 
to me, at least! why would they do that?), but hanging out with young cowbird 
peers which would enable them to build cowbirdness. To me it looks like this 
additional discovery was not yet made in 2015 -- so in that study they 
mistakenly concluded that the young cowbird was sitting alone in the dark, 
instead of going to his peer party. 

If I do find it again, I'll forward it. 

--If anyone on this list has a digital copy already, please post a copy. 

Many thanks again, over and out for now, 
Magnus
--
Magnus Fiskesjö, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Cornell University
McGraw Hall, Room 201. Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
E-mail: magnus.fiske...@cornell.edu, or: n...@cornell.edu

From: AB Clark [anneb.cl...@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, April 12, 2020 10:14 AM
To: Magnus Fiskesjo
Cc: John Confer; CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: Re: "Juvenile cowbirds sneak out at night" - RE: [cayugabirds-l] 
Cowbirds

At the risk of making this a longer-than-wanted discussion, I will briefly 
answer—and then retreat!

 I just read Magnus’  report on Louder et al’s study from U Illinois and 
downloaded the actual paper and here is the story.  No one is leaving at 3 am!  
Or flying out of a nest as a nestling.  Too much fine grained terminology is 
leading to misunderstandings, but it is a fascinating paper.

SO—the question that the researchers were interested in was whether actual 
biological mothers of young cowbirds were somehow leading their own fledglings 
away from the Host-parents territory.  The answer is NO.  But the FLEDGLINGS 
(juveniles that have left the nest and are flying, at about 10-20 days old) are 
often leaving on their own, at dusk, to ROOST (sit in the dark) away from their 
foster-parents territories, but still returning to those territories in daytime.

The confusions come in because they put the little radios on the cowbird young 
on about the last day when they were still in their host-nests as NESTLINGS, 
but the observations they report were all on FLEDGLINGS, young that had left 
their nests, never to return.  In Icterids, nestlings do not leave flighted, 
but they can flutter and can cling and climb with strong well developed legs.  
From what I remember, young cowbirds develop a little faster than some.  So 
maybe they fly as early as 5-6 days after fledging—I have to check.

 But it is during the later FLEDGLING stage, out of the nests and mobile, that 
they start to disappear off foster-territory in the evening.  Sunset isn’t 
dark, so they can still move easily;  apparently motivated by whatever gets a 
cowbird to become a cowbird, they often left to roost alone, during the next 3 
weeks of still being associated with foster-parents during the day.  And their 
non-doting cowbird mothers don’t have anything to do with it, because they were 
also being tracked by radios and triangulating receiver towers, and 
mom-cowbirds were not present during these movements.

Did it bring juvenile cowbirds into contact with other cowbirds?  Apparently 
not, at that stage.  But the “go away, young man/cowbird” urge was already 
present.


So thanks, Magnus, for bringing our attention to this really interesting 
report!  (I can send it to anyone who wants to read it!)

Anne

Anne B Clark
147 Hile School Rd
Freeville, NY 13068
607-222-0905
anneb.cl...@gmail.com<mailto:anneb.cl...@gmail.com>



On Apr 11, 2020, at 10:02 PM, Magnus Fiskesjo 
mailto:magnus.fiske...@cornell.edu>> wrote:


Thanks. Yes it's curious and hard-to-believe and I think that's why I remember 
so clearly reading about this in the Lab of O's Living Bird member's magazine, 
but as I said, can't find that article online--perhaps it is only in their 
printed version which I must have read 2017 or later. AllAboutBird account is 
much earlier, 2009, and does not bring up what must be some NEW research ( 
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/if-brown-headed-cowbirds-are-reared-by-other-species-how-do-they-know-they-are-cowbirds-when-they-grow-up/
 ).

Regardless, just now a friend sent me this 2015 report below, which mentions 
the SAME strange observations that I believe I read in Living Bird -- with

Re: "Juvenile cowbirds sneak out at night" - RE: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[AB Clark]

 M. Schelsky, Mark E. Hauber, 
> Jeffrey P. Hoover. Out on their own: a test of adult-assisted dispersal in 
> fledgling brood parasites reveals solitary departures from hosts. Animal 
> Behaviour, 2015; 110: 29 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.09.009
> [= 
> https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347215003401?via%3Dihub
>   ]
> 
> Cite This Page:
> University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "Juvenile cowbirds sneak out at 
> night." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 November 2015. 
> .
> 
> 
> -End quote. 
> 
> --sincerely, 
> Magnus Fiskesjö, PhD
> Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Cornell University
> McGraw Hall, Room 201. Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
> E-mail: magnus.fiske...@cornell.edu, or: n...@cornell.edu
> 
> Affiliations at Cornell University, WWW:
> Anthropology Department, https://anthropology.cornell.edu/anthropology-faculty
> Southeast Asia Program (SEAP), https://seap.einaudi.cornell.edu/people/faculty
> East Asia Program (EAP), http://eap.einaudi.cornell.edu/people/core-faculty
> CIAMS (Archaeology), https://archaeology.cornell.edu/faculty
> Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA), 
> cipa.cornell.edu/academics/fieldfaculty.cfm
> Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS), 
> http://pacs.einaudi.cornell.edu/people/steering-committee
> _
> 
> From: John Confer [con...@ithaca.edu]
> Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2020 7:47 PM
> To: Magnus Fiskesjo; CAYUGABIRDS-L
> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds
> 
> I, also, wonder about this report. I've had to handle nestlings for research 
> purposes, always with fear and the most care possible. Nestlings don't stay 
> in nests any longer than absolutely necessary because nests are depredated by 
> raccoon, cat, weasel, skunk, raptors, etc. Nestlings generally can't leave 
> any earlier because they don't have sufficient feathers for insulation nor 
> muscle strength to move around. Further, since they don't thermoregulate 
> until just about the day they leave, they would have a hard time surviving in 
> the lower temperatures of night. 3 to 4 to 5 AM is usually the coldest time 
> of the 24 hr cycle, often 20-30-40 degrees colder than mid-day. This doesn't 
> makes sense to me.
> 
> It is a pretty image.
> 
> John
> 
> 
> 
> From: bounce-124540618-25065...@list.cornell.edu 
>  on behalf of Magnus Fiskesjo 
> 
> Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2020 10:10 AM
> To: AB Clark 
> Cc: Michael H. Goldstein ; CAYUGABIRDS-L 
> 
> Subject: RE: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds
> 
> This message originated from outside the Ithaca College email system.
> 
> 
> Hi, I would love to know, and I sure wish I could find that article. I 
> definitely recall that it said the cowbird chicks that were studied left 
> their nest like 3am to go to the field ("party"), and then came back to the 
> nest before dawn, to continue to pretend to be their slave parent's child!
> 
> Of course later they'll not sit in the nest any more, and wander around while 
> being fed, I've seen that. And yes I am sure you are right about most of the 
> other things you noted! I maybe should not have said "teenager", -- that was 
> my word choice, not that of the scholars whose research was reported in that 
> Living Bird magazine article.  I used "teenager" because the cowbird nightly 
> field party seemed to be a ... teenager's dance party.
> 
> Maybe someone else knows the URL for the actual article. I can't find it, I 
> must have read it in print only.
> 
> This rather memorable article also talked about other astounding discoveries 
> such as that the catbird is the only bird that can resist the cowbird's 
> trickery. Unlike other birds, it said, the catbird will expel every egg that 
> looks different from its first egg. So, the cowbirds can only outsmart it by 
> laying their egg in the catbirds' new nest before even mama catbird has laid 
> her first egg there. If it can, then the catbird will expel her own eggs, one 
> after the other. And if the cowbird scheme fails, it might rip up the nest 
> (as revenge).
> 
> --yrs.,
> Magnus Fiskesjö
> n...@cornell.edu
> 
> From: AB Clark [anneb.cl...@gmail.com]
> Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2020 9:30 AM
> To: Magnus Fiskesjo
> Cc: Michael H. Goldstein; CAYUGABIRDS-L
> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds
> 
> I wonder if there has been some mis-intepretation either in the article or by 
> subsequent readers.  Cowbird young, like other passerines, leave the nest in 
> the care of parents (foster or otherwise) and live outside the nest from then 
> on.  (OK individua

"Juvenile cowbirds sneak out at night" - RE: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[Magnus Fiskesjo]

directional coverage. All three towers track one individual cowbird at a time 
and then move to the next individual."

With this system, Louder could track the location of each study bird every 
one-to-two minutes.

"We were able to watch the juveniles and see if they left the forest at the 
same time as a female and, if so, whether that female was their mom," he said.

"Strangely enough, the juveniles did not follow the females out of the forest," 
Louder said. Instead, they left on their own, after dark, returning only the 
following morning, he said.

"I started seeing this in the data and I thought it was wrong," Louder said. So 
he went to the forest and followed a single juvenile cowbird for one night. The 
bird left the forest in the evening, moving to a rosebush on the adjacent 
prairie. It was out there all night, alone.

"As soon as the sun came up, the juvenile flew back into the forest and to the 
warbler's territory," Louder said. "Without the automated radio telemetry, I 
would have assumed that it had stayed in the forest all night."

The discovery doesn't explain how cowbirds find their way into a cowbird flock, 
where they learn most of their social and survival skills and eventually find a 
mate. But it does offer some insight into the processes that allow young 
cowbirds to avoid imprinting on their hosts, the researchers said.

"Clearly, there's a lot more to these birds than people would have thought," 
Hoover said. "We still have more layers to peel away from this onion that is 
the cowbird."


Story Source:
Materials provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Original 
written by Diana Yates. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:
Matthew I.M. Louder, Michael P. Ward, Wendy M. Schelsky, Mark E. Hauber, 
Jeffrey P. Hoover. Out on their own: a test of adult-assisted dispersal in 
fledgling brood parasites reveals solitary departures from hosts. Animal 
Behaviour, 2015; 110: 29 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.09.009
[= 
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347215003401?via%3Dihub
  ]

Cite This Page:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "Juvenile cowbirds sneak out at 
night." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 November 2015. 
.


-End quote. 

--sincerely, 
Magnus Fiskesjö, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, Cornell University
McGraw Hall, Room 201. Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
E-mail: magnus.fiske...@cornell.edu, or: n...@cornell.edu

Affiliations at Cornell University, WWW:
Anthropology Department, https://anthropology.cornell.edu/anthropology-faculty
Southeast Asia Program (SEAP), https://seap.einaudi.cornell.edu/people/faculty
East Asia Program (EAP), http://eap.einaudi.cornell.edu/people/core-faculty
CIAMS (Archaeology), https://archaeology.cornell.edu/faculty
Cornell Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA), 
cipa.cornell.edu/academics/fieldfaculty.cfm
Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS), 
http://pacs.einaudi.cornell.edu/people/steering-committee
_
____
From: John Confer [con...@ithaca.edu]
Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2020 7:47 PM
To: Magnus Fiskesjo; CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

I, also, wonder about this report. I've had to handle nestlings for research 
purposes, always with fear and the most care possible. Nestlings don't stay in 
nests any longer than absolutely necessary because nests are depredated by 
raccoon, cat, weasel, skunk, raptors, etc. Nestlings generally can't leave any 
earlier because they don't have sufficient feathers for insulation nor muscle 
strength to move around. Further, since they don't thermoregulate until just 
about the day they leave, they would have a hard time surviving in the lower 
temperatures of night. 3 to 4 to 5 AM is usually the coldest time of the 24 hr 
cycle, often 20-30-40 degrees colder than mid-day. This doesn't makes sense to 
me.

It is a pretty image.

John



From: bounce-124540618-25065...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Magnus Fiskesjo 

Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2020 10:10 AM
To: AB Clark 
Cc: Michael H. Goldstein ; CAYUGABIRDS-L 

Subject: RE: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

This message originated from outside the Ithaca College email system.


Hi, I would love to know, and I sure wish I could find that article. I 
definitely recall that it said the cowbird chicks that were studied left their 
nest like 3am to go to the field ("party"), and then came back to the nest 
before dawn, to continue to pretend to be their slave parent's child!

Of course later they'll not sit in the nest any more, and wander around while 
being fed, I've seen that. And yes I am sure you are right about most of the 
other things you noted! I maybe should not have said "teenager", -- that was my 
word choice, not that of the scholars whose resear

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[John Confer]

I, also, wonder about this report. I've had to handle nestlings for research 
purposes, always with fear and the most care possible. Nestlings don't stay in 
nests any longer than absolutely necessary because nests are depredated by 
raccoon, cat, weasel, skunk, raptors, etc. Nestlings generally can't leave any 
earlier because they don't have sufficient feathers for insulation nor muscle 
strength to move around. Further, since they don't thermoregulate until just 
about the day they leave, they would have a hard time surviving in the lower 
temperatures of night. 3 to 4 to 5 AM is usually the coldest time of the 24 hr 
cycle, often 20-30-40 degrees colder than mid-day. This doesn't makes sense to 
me.

It is a pretty image.

John



From: bounce-124540618-25065...@list.cornell.edu 
 on behalf of Magnus Fiskesjo 

Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2020 10:10 AM
To: AB Clark 
Cc: Michael H. Goldstein ; CAYUGABIRDS-L 

Subject: RE: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

This message originated from outside the Ithaca College email system.


Hi, I would love to know, and I sure wish I could find that article. I 
definitely recall that it said the cowbird chicks that were studied left their 
nest like 3am to go to the field ("party"), and then came back to the nest 
before dawn, to continue to pretend to be their slave parent's child!

Of course later they'll not sit in the nest any more, and wander around while 
being fed, I've seen that. And yes I am sure you are right about most of the 
other things you noted! I maybe should not have said "teenager", -- that was my 
word choice, not that of the scholars whose research was reported in that 
Living Bird magazine article.  I used "teenager" because the cowbird nightly 
field party seemed to be a ... teenager's dance party.

Maybe someone else knows the URL for the actual article. I can't find it, I 
must have read it in print only.

This rather memorable article also talked about other astounding discoveries 
such as that the catbird is the only bird that can resist the cowbird's 
trickery. Unlike other birds, it said, the catbird will expel every egg that 
looks different from its first egg. So, the cowbirds can only outsmart it by 
laying their egg in the catbirds' new nest before even mama catbird has laid 
her first egg there. If it can, then the catbird will expel her own eggs, one 
after the other. And if the cowbird scheme fails, it might rip up the nest (as 
revenge).

--yrs.,
Magnus Fiskesjö
n...@cornell.edu

From: AB Clark [anneb.cl...@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2020 9:30 AM
To: Magnus Fiskesjo
Cc: Michael H. Goldstein; CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

I wonder if there has been some mis-intepretation either in the article or by 
subsequent readers.  Cowbird young, like other passerines, leave the nest in 
the care of parents (foster or otherwise) and live outside the nest from then 
on.  (OK individuals may hop outside during the day and return at night for the 
day or two over which they fledge.)  Care for cowbirds in the fledgling stage 
lasts a similar time to their relatives, red-winged blackbirds and other 
smallish icterids.  They should be fed and be following or calling to parents 
over the next 12-14 days, not joining older cowbirds.  Teenagers would be 
perhaps yearling cowbirds?  It is later, in summer and fall, when young 
cowbirds are independent of parents, that they flock up with other cowbirds and 
blackbirds.

I haven’t heard anything about 3 am gatherings from Meredith or her students.  
Seems pretty dark for any such passerine to be moving.  West and King studied 
them in aviaries and it could be that researchers got up at 3 am to set up and 
be there when singing started to happen.  But in any case, cowbird song 
learning is a fascinating situation where the basic songs are clearly not 
learned from parents during late nestling or early fledgling periods, i.e. 
develop “innately”, but  are socially modified in a number of ways, feedback 
from female cowbirds and from competing male cowbirds both.  West and King 
published several really nice overviews in accessible papers, Scientific 
American or American Scientist, I believe.

By the way, there is at least one video-documented report of a hatchling 
cowbird behaving like cuckoos and butting host eggs out of the nest.


Anne B Clark
147 Hile School Rd
Freeville, NY 13068
607-222-0905
anneb.cl...@gmail.com<mailto:anneb.cl...@gmail.com>



On Apr 11, 2020, at 9:11 AM, Magnus Fiskesjo 
mailto:magnus.fiske...@cornell.edu>> wrote:

This morning, a male cowbird singing, at Salt Point. Never heard that before. A 
very low volume series of thin crispy notes. No clucking, as in some recordings 
of its song.

The bird sat very close, on top of the little pine/fur tree at the lakeside 
fork of the path to the Bluebird Path.

It refused to leave its perch and con

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[Peter Saracino]

Thanks Kyle.
According to "The Birder's Handbook" one experiment showed that "acceptors"
of cowbird eggs included many warblers, videos, phoebes, and song sparrows,
while robins, catbirds, blue Jay's and brown Thrashers rejected such eggs.
It should also be mentioned that "brood parasitism", while quite possibly
perfected by cowbirds,  is also present in other species (although to a
much lesser extent) including members of such diverse species as ducks and
weavers (same book).
Finally, "females of a wide variety of species sometimes lay eggs in the
nests of other females of the same species." (same book).
Pete Sar

On Sat, Apr 11, 2020, 10:45 AM Kyle Gage  wrote:

> 
> Some other species such as yellow warbler will reject cowbird eggs or
> build a new nest over one w/cowbird eggs in it. I have seen a 2 layered
> nest before ( after the young have fledged) presumably a yellow warblers.
>
> Also, from Cornell’s NestWatch program: “ Those species which accept
> cowbird eggs either do not notice the new eggs, or as new evidence
> suggests, accept them as a defense against total nest destruction. Cowbirds
> may “punish” egg-rejectors by destroying the entire nest, whereas it is
> possible for egg-acceptors to raise some of their own young in addition to
> the cowbird young”
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Apr 11, 2020, at 10:10 AM, Magnus Fiskesjo 
> wrote:
>
> 
> Hi, I would love to know, and I sure wish I could find that article. I
> definitely recall that it said the cowbird chicks that were studied left
> their nest like 3am to go to the field ("party"), and then came back to the
> nest before dawn, to continue to pretend to be their slave parent's child!
>
> Of course later they'll not sit in the nest any more, and wander around
> while being fed, I've seen that. And yes I am sure you are right about most
> of the other things you noted! I maybe should not have said "teenager", --
> that was my word choice, not that of the scholars whose research was
> reported in that Living Bird magazine article.  I used "teenager" because
> the cowbird nightly field party seemed to be a ... teenager's dance party.
>
> Maybe someone else knows the URL for the actual article. I can't find it,
> I must have read it in print only.
>
> This rather memorable article also talked about other astounding
> discoveries such as that the catbird is the only bird that can resist the
> cowbird's trickery. Unlike other birds, it said, the catbird will expel
> every egg that looks different from its first egg. So, the cowbirds can
> only outsmart it by laying their egg in the catbirds' new nest before even
> mama catbird has laid her first egg there. If it can, then the catbird will
> expel her own eggs, one after the other. And if the cowbird scheme fails,
> it might rip up the nest (as revenge).
>
> --yrs.,
> Magnus Fiskesjö
> n...@cornell.edu
> ________
> From: AB Clark [anneb.cl...@gmail.com]
> Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2020 9:30 AM
> To: Magnus Fiskesjo
> Cc: Michael H. Goldstein; CAYUGABIRDS-L
> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds
>
> I wonder if there has been some mis-intepretation either in the article or
> by subsequent readers.  Cowbird young, like other passerines, leave the
> nest in the care of parents (foster or otherwise) and live outside the nest
> from then on.  (OK individuals may hop outside during the day and return at
> night for the day or two over which they fledge.)  Care for cowbirds in the
> fledgling stage lasts a similar time to their relatives, red-winged
> blackbirds and other smallish icterids.  They should be fed and be
> following or calling to parents over the next 12-14 days, not joining older
> cowbirds.  Teenagers would be perhaps yearling cowbirds?  It is later, in
> summer and fall, when young cowbirds are independent of parents, that they
> flock up with other cowbirds and blackbirds.
>
> I haven’t heard anything about 3 am gatherings from Meredith or her
> students.  Seems pretty dark for any such passerine to be moving.  West and
> King studied them in aviaries and it could be that researchers got up at 3
> am to set up and be there when singing started to happen.  But in any case,
> cowbird song learning is a fascinating situation where the basic songs are
> clearly not learned from parents during late nestling or early fledgling
> periods, i.e. develop “innately”, but  are socially modified in a number of
> ways, feedback from female cowbirds and from competing male cowbirds both.
> West and King published several really nice overviews in accessible papers,
> Scientific American or American Scientist, I believe.
>
> By the way, there is at least

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[Kyle Gage]


Some other species such as yellow warbler will reject cowbird eggs or build a 
new nest over one w/cowbird eggs in it. I have seen a 2 layered nest before ( 
after the young have fledged) presumably a yellow warblers. 

Also, from Cornell’s NestWatch program: “ Those species which accept cowbird 
eggs either do not notice the new eggs, or as new evidence suggests, accept 
them as a defense against total nest destruction. Cowbirds may “punish” 
egg-rejectors by destroying the entire nest, whereas it is possible for 
egg-acceptors to raise some of their own young in addition to the cowbird young”

Sent from my iPhone

>> On Apr 11, 2020, at 10:10 AM, Magnus Fiskesjo  
>> wrote:
> 
> Hi, I would love to know, and I sure wish I could find that article. I 
> definitely recall that it said the cowbird chicks that were studied left 
> their nest like 3am to go to the field ("party"), and then came back to the 
> nest before dawn, to continue to pretend to be their slave parent's child!  
> 
> Of course later they'll not sit in the nest any more, and wander around while 
> being fed, I've seen that. And yes I am sure you are right about most of the 
> other things you noted! I maybe should not have said "teenager", -- that was 
> my word choice, not that of the scholars whose research was reported in that 
> Living Bird magazine article.  I used "teenager" because the cowbird nightly 
> field party seemed to be a ... teenager's dance party. 
> 
> Maybe someone else knows the URL for the actual article. I can't find it, I 
> must have read it in print only.  
> 
> This rather memorable article also talked about other astounding discoveries 
> such as that the catbird is the only bird that can resist the cowbird's 
> trickery. Unlike other birds, it said, the catbird will expel every egg that 
> looks different from its first egg. So, the cowbirds can only outsmart it by 
> laying their egg in the catbirds' new nest before even mama catbird has laid 
> her first egg there. If it can, then the catbird will expel her own eggs, one 
> after the other. And if the cowbird scheme fails, it might rip up the nest 
> (as revenge). 
> 
> --yrs.,
> Magnus Fiskesjö
> n...@cornell.edu
> 
> From: AB Clark [anneb.cl...@gmail.com]
> Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2020 9:30 AM
> To: Magnus Fiskesjo
> Cc: Michael H. Goldstein; CAYUGABIRDS-L
> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds
> 
> I wonder if there has been some mis-intepretation either in the article or by 
> subsequent readers.  Cowbird young, like other passerines, leave the nest in 
> the care of parents (foster or otherwise) and live outside the nest from then 
> on.  (OK individuals may hop outside during the day and return at night for 
> the day or two over which they fledge.)  Care for cowbirds in the fledgling 
> stage lasts a similar time to their relatives, red-winged blackbirds and 
> other smallish icterids.  They should be fed and be following or calling to 
> parents over the next 12-14 days, not joining older cowbirds.  Teenagers 
> would be perhaps yearling cowbirds?  It is later, in summer and fall, when 
> young cowbirds are independent of parents, that they flock up with other 
> cowbirds and blackbirds.
> 
> I haven’t heard anything about 3 am gatherings from Meredith or her students. 
>  Seems pretty dark for any such passerine to be moving.  West and King 
> studied them in aviaries and it could be that researchers got up at 3 am to 
> set up and be there when singing started to happen.  But in any case, cowbird 
> song learning is a fascinating situation where the basic songs are clearly 
> not learned from parents during late nestling or early fledgling periods, 
> i.e. develop “innately”, but  are socially modified in a number of ways, 
> feedback from female cowbirds and from competing male cowbirds both.  West 
> and King published several really nice overviews in accessible papers, 
> Scientific American or American Scientist, I believe.
> 
> By the way, there is at least one video-documented report of a hatchling 
> cowbird behaving like cuckoos and butting host eggs out of the nest.
> 
> 
> Anne B Clark
> 147 Hile School Rd
> Freeville, NY 13068
> 607-222-0905
> anneb.cl...@gmail.com<mailto:anneb.cl...@gmail.com>
> 
> 
> 
> On Apr 11, 2020, at 9:11 AM, Magnus Fiskesjo 
> mailto:magnus.fiske...@cornell.edu>> wrote:
> 
> This morning, a male cowbird singing, at Salt Point. Never heard that before. 
> A very low volume series of thin crispy notes. No clucking, as in some 
> recordings of its song.
> 
> The bird sat very close, on top of the little pine/fur tree at the lakeside 
> fork of the path to the Bluebird Path.
>

RE: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[Magnus Fiskesjo]

Hi, I would love to know, and I sure wish I could find that article. I 
definitely recall that it said the cowbird chicks that were studied left their 
nest like 3am to go to the field ("party"), and then came back to the nest 
before dawn, to continue to pretend to be their slave parent's child!  

Of course later they'll not sit in the nest any more, and wander around while 
being fed, I've seen that. And yes I am sure you are right about most of the 
other things you noted! I maybe should not have said "teenager", -- that was my 
word choice, not that of the scholars whose research was reported in that 
Living Bird magazine article.  I used "teenager" because the cowbird nightly 
field party seemed to be a ... teenager's dance party. 

Maybe someone else knows the URL for the actual article. I can't find it, I 
must have read it in print only.  

This rather memorable article also talked about other astounding discoveries 
such as that the catbird is the only bird that can resist the cowbird's 
trickery. Unlike other birds, it said, the catbird will expel every egg that 
looks different from its first egg. So, the cowbirds can only outsmart it by 
laying their egg in the catbirds' new nest before even mama catbird has laid 
her first egg there. If it can, then the catbird will expel her own eggs, one 
after the other. And if the cowbird scheme fails, it might rip up the nest (as 
revenge). 

--yrs.,
Magnus Fiskesjö
n...@cornell.edu

From: AB Clark [anneb.cl...@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, April 11, 2020 9:30 AM
To: Magnus Fiskesjo
Cc: Michael H. Goldstein; CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

I wonder if there has been some mis-intepretation either in the article or by 
subsequent readers.  Cowbird young, like other passerines, leave the nest in 
the care of parents (foster or otherwise) and live outside the nest from then 
on.  (OK individuals may hop outside during the day and return at night for the 
day or two over which they fledge.)  Care for cowbirds in the fledgling stage 
lasts a similar time to their relatives, red-winged blackbirds and other 
smallish icterids.  They should be fed and be following or calling to parents 
over the next 12-14 days, not joining older cowbirds.  Teenagers would be 
perhaps yearling cowbirds?  It is later, in summer and fall, when young 
cowbirds are independent of parents, that they flock up with other cowbirds and 
blackbirds.

I haven’t heard anything about 3 am gatherings from Meredith or her students.  
Seems pretty dark for any such passerine to be moving.  West and King studied 
them in aviaries and it could be that researchers got up at 3 am to set up and 
be there when singing started to happen.  But in any case, cowbird song 
learning is a fascinating situation where the basic songs are clearly not 
learned from parents during late nestling or early fledgling periods, i.e. 
develop “innately”, but  are socially modified in a number of ways, feedback 
from female cowbirds and from competing male cowbirds both.  West and King 
published several really nice overviews in accessible papers, Scientific 
American or American Scientist, I believe.

By the way, there is at least one video-documented report of a hatchling 
cowbird behaving like cuckoos and butting host eggs out of the nest.


Anne B Clark
147 Hile School Rd
Freeville, NY 13068
607-222-0905
anneb.cl...@gmail.com<mailto:anneb.cl...@gmail.com>



On Apr 11, 2020, at 9:11 AM, Magnus Fiskesjo 
mailto:magnus.fiske...@cornell.edu>> wrote:

This morning, a male cowbird singing, at Salt Point. Never heard that before. A 
very low volume series of thin crispy notes. No clucking, as in some recordings 
of its song.

The bird sat very close, on top of the little pine/fur tree at the lakeside 
fork of the path to the Bluebird Path.

It refused to leave its perch and continued singing even as I stood right under 
the tree.

Ps. the weirdest cowbird research for me was the Living Bird piece reporting on 
how a cowbird knows it is a cowbird, and not a whatever other bird, despite 
being raised by them as slave parents. It was discovered that the grown chick 
gets up at 3am and leaves the slaving foster parents' nest, to go hang out with 
other teenager cowbirds in a nearby field. Next question is, how do hey know 
that they should get out of bed at 3am and go to the field party and get to 
know their cowbirdness?
ps. I could not find the reference to the Living Bird magazine article where I 
read this. I only find this partial account, also interesting but no mention of 
the teenager party:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/if-brown-headed-cowbirds-are-reared-by-other-species-how-do-they-know-they-are-cowbirds-when-they-grow-up/

--
Magnus Fiskesjö
n...@cornell.edu
_
From: bounce-124539965-84019...@list.cornell.edu 
[bounce-124539965-84019...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Michael H.

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[AB Clark]

I wonder if there has been some mis-intepretation either in the article or by 
subsequent readers.  Cowbird young, like other passerines, leave the nest in 
the care of parents (foster or otherwise) and live outside the nest from then 
on.  (OK individuals may hop outside during the day and return at night for the 
day or two over which they fledge.)  Care for cowbirds in the fledgling stage 
lasts a similar time to their relatives, red-winged blackbirds and other 
smallish icterids.  They should be fed and be following or calling to parents 
over the next 12-14 days, not joining older cowbirds.  Teenagers would be 
perhaps yearling cowbirds?  It is later, in summer and fall, when young 
cowbirds are independent of parents, that they flock up with other cowbirds and 
blackbirds.  

I haven’t heard anything about 3 am gatherings from Meredith or her students.  
Seems pretty dark for any such passerine to be moving.  West and King studied 
them in aviaries and it could be that researchers got up at 3 am to set up and 
be there when singing started to happen.  But in any case, cowbird song 
learning is a fascinating situation where the basic songs are clearly not 
learned from parents during late nestling or early fledgling periods, i.e. 
develop “innately”, but  are socially modified in a number of ways, feedback 
from female cowbirds and from competing male cowbirds both.  West and King 
published several really nice overviews in accessible papers, Scientific 
American or American Scientist, I believe.

By the way, there is at least one video-documented report of a hatchling 
cowbird behaving like cuckoos and butting host eggs out of the nest.


Anne B Clark
147 Hile School Rd
Freeville, NY 13068
607-222-0905
anneb.cl...@gmail.com



> On Apr 11, 2020, at 9:11 AM, Magnus Fiskesjo  
> wrote:
> 
> This morning, a male cowbird singing, at Salt Point. Never heard that before. 
> A very low volume series of thin crispy notes. No clucking, as in some 
> recordings of its song.
> 
> The bird sat very close, on top of the little pine/fur tree at the lakeside 
> fork of the path to the Bluebird Path. 
> 
> It refused to leave its perch and continued singing even as I stood right 
> under the tree. 
> 
> Ps. the weirdest cowbird research for me was the Living Bird piece reporting 
> on how a cowbird knows it is a cowbird, and not a whatever other bird, 
> despite being raised by them as slave parents. It was discovered that the 
> grown chick gets up at 3am and leaves the slaving foster parents' nest, to go 
> hang out with other teenager cowbirds in a nearby field. Next question is, 
> how do hey know that they should get out of bed at 3am and go to the field 
> party and get to know their cowbirdness?  
> ps. I could not find the reference to the Living Bird magazine article where 
> I read this. I only find this partial account, also interesting but no 
> mention of the teenager party: 
> https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/if-brown-headed-cowbirds-are-reared-by-other-species-how-do-they-know-they-are-cowbirds-when-they-grow-up/
> 
> --
> Magnus Fiskesjö
> n...@cornell.edu 
> _
> From: bounce-124539965-84019...@list.cornell.edu 
> [bounce-124539965-84019...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Michael H. 
> Goldstein [michael.goldst...@cornell.edu]
> Sent: Friday, April 10, 2020 8:05 PM
> To: CAYUGABIRDS-L
> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds
> 
> Cowbirds are crazier than you think…check out the research by Meredith West 
> and Andrew King on the role of female cowbirds (who don’t sing) in shaping 
> the development of juvenile males' song by using rapid wing gestures:  
> http://www.indiana.edu/~aviary/Research/female%20visual%20displays.pdf and 
> more generally, http://www.indiana.edu/~aviary/Publications.htm
> 
> Cheers,
> Mike
> 
> 
> 
> On Apr 10, 2020, at 7:49 PM, Peter Saracino 
> mailto:petersarac...@gmail.com>> wrote:
> 
> I was having a cup of coffee looking out the window at 3 male and 3 female 
> cowbirds going at the sunflower seeds. As I watched them it dawned on me that 
> all of them were raised by foster parents!!!
> According to the Lab of O:
> "the cowbird does not depend exclusively on a single host species; it has 
> been known to parasitize over 220 different species of North American birds".
> Crazy, wild stuff.
> Pete Sar
> --
> Cayugabirds-L List Info:
> Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME>
> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES>
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> Archives:
> The Mail 
> Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds

RE: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[Magnus Fiskesjo]

This morning, a male cowbird singing, at Salt Point. Never heard that before. A 
very low volume series of thin crispy notes. No clucking, as in some recordings 
of its song.

The bird sat very close, on top of the little pine/fur tree at the lakeside 
fork of the path to the Bluebird Path. 

It refused to leave its perch and continued singing even as I stood right under 
the tree. 

Ps. the weirdest cowbird research for me was the Living Bird piece reporting on 
how a cowbird knows it is a cowbird, and not a whatever other bird, despite 
being raised by them as slave parents. It was discovered that the grown chick 
gets up at 3am and leaves the slaving foster parents' nest, to go hang out with 
other teenager cowbirds in a nearby field. Next question is, how do hey know 
that they should get out of bed at 3am and go to the field party and get to 
know their cowbirdness?  
ps. I could not find the reference to the Living Bird magazine article where I 
read this. I only find this partial account, also interesting but no mention of 
the teenager party: 
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/if-brown-headed-cowbirds-are-reared-by-other-species-how-do-they-know-they-are-cowbirds-when-they-grow-up/

--
Magnus Fiskesjö
n...@cornell.edu 
_
From: bounce-124539965-84019...@list.cornell.edu 
[bounce-124539965-84019...@list.cornell.edu] on behalf of Michael H. Goldstein 
[michael.goldst...@cornell.edu]
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2020 8:05 PM
To: CAYUGABIRDS-L
Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

Cowbirds are crazier than you think…check out the research by Meredith West and 
Andrew King on the role of female cowbirds (who don’t sing) in shaping the 
development of juvenile males' song by using rapid wing gestures:  
http://www.indiana.edu/~aviary/Research/female%20visual%20displays.pdf and more 
generally, http://www.indiana.edu/~aviary/Publications.htm

Cheers,
Mike



On Apr 10, 2020, at 7:49 PM, Peter Saracino 
mailto:petersarac...@gmail.com>> wrote:

I was having a cup of coffee looking out the window at 3 male and 3 female 
cowbirds going at the sunflower seeds. As I watched them it dawned on me that 
all of them were raised by foster parents!!!
According to the Lab of O:
"the cowbird does not depend exclusively on a single host species; it has been 
known to parasitize over 220 different species of North American birds".
Crazy, wild stuff.
Pete Sar
--
Cayugabirds-L List Info:
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Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>!
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___
Michael H. Goldstein
Associate Professor
Director, Eleanor J. Gibson Laboratory of Developmental Psychology
Director, College Scholar Program
Department of Psychology, Cornell University
270 Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853

Office 607-793-0537;  Lab 607-254-BABY;  Fax 607-255-8433
https://psychology.cornell.edu/michael-h-goldstein

Cornell B.A.B.Y. Lab:  http://babylab.cornell.edu/
___

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Cayugabirds-L List Info:
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Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[Michael H. Goldstein]

Cowbirds are crazier than you think…check out the research by Meredith West and 
Andrew King on the role of female cowbirds (who don’t sing) in shaping the 
development of juvenile males' song by using rapid wing gestures:  
http://www.indiana.edu/~aviary/Research/female%20visual%20displays.pdf and more 
generally, http://www.indiana.edu/~aviary/Publications.htm

Cheers,
Mike



On Apr 10, 2020, at 7:49 PM, Peter Saracino 
mailto:petersarac...@gmail.com>> wrote:

I was having a cup of coffee looking out the window at 3 male and 3 female 
cowbirds going at the sunflower seeds. As I watched them it dawned on me that 
all of them were raised by foster parents!!!
According to the Lab of O:
"the cowbird does not depend exclusively on a single host species; it has been 
known to parasitize over 220 different species of North American birds".
Crazy, wild stuff.
Pete Sar
--
Cayugabirds-L List Info:
Welcome and Basics
Rules and Information
Subscribe, Configuration and 
Leave
Archives:
The Mail 
Archive
Surfbirds
BirdingOnThe.Net
Please submit your observations to eBird!
--

___
Michael H. Goldstein
Associate Professor
Director, Eleanor J. Gibson Laboratory of Developmental Psychology
Director, College Scholar Program
Department of Psychology, Cornell University
270 Uris Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853

Office 607-793-0537;  Lab 607-254-BABY;  Fax 607-255-8433
https://psychology.cornell.edu/michael-h-goldstein

Cornell B.A.B.Y. Lab:  http://babylab.cornell.edu/
___


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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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[cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds II

[Peter Saracino]

I suppose EVERY cowbird now returning to the Northeast had foster parents!!
The ultimate case of "drop and run"
Sar

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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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--

[cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[Peter Saracino]

I was having a cup of coffee looking out the window at 3 male and 3 female
cowbirds going at the sunflower seeds. As I watched them it dawned on me
that all of them were raised by foster parents!!!
According to the Lab of O:
"the cowbird does not depend exclusively on a single host species; it has
been known to parasitize over 220 different species of North American
birds".
Crazy, wild stuff.
Pete Sar

--

Cayugabirds-L List Info:
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[cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[Carol Cedarholm]

Had 8 Brown Headed Cowbirds at my feeder this morning.
First St
Ithaca

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[cayugabirds-l] cowbirds, snow geese,

[Marty Schlabach]

Yesterday was probably the first day since late December that we didn't have 
cowbirds at our feeders.  The numbers ranged from 20-100 over that time, with 
fewer the last week or so.

Yesterday I saw at least a dozen sizable flocks of snow geese overhead, heading 
north.  Most flocks I estimated to be 500+ in number.

Marty
===
Marty Schlabach   m...@cornell.edu
8407 Powell Rd. home  607-532-3467
Interlaken, NY 14847   cell315-521-4315
===


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[cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[W. Larry Hymes]

I was surprised to find a pair of COWBIRDS feeding in our yard this 
afternoon.  First of the season for us.


Larry

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W. Larry Hymes
120 Vine Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
(H) 607-277-0759, w...@cornell.edu



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[cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds at feeders

[Carl Steckler]

I have Cowbirds at my feeders here in Dryden.
Carl Steckler

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[cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[bob mcguire]

Last week I drove all the way up to Lake Como to get my first cowbird of the 
year. 

And just now I had a flock of 20 on the platform feeder here at home!

Bob McGuire
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Re:[cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[Peter]

Thanks for the reply Dave!
By the way, I WAS able to read even your first email.
Anyway, thanks for the reply.
Pete

On 1/9/2016 7:11 PM, Dave Nutter wrote:
> Peter,
> On the afternoon of 5 January Ann Mitchell & I saw a flock of about 25 
> BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS, males & females, on the shoulder of Fenner Rd 
> near NYS-34B, which is in the northwest corner of the Town of Lansing 
> in Tompkins County. They were not present during a couple of more 
> recent visits. They were first-of-year for both of us. I think the 
> cowbirds wander. Several MOURNING DOVES were also on the road shoulder 
> that day, but they flushed separately and did remain in the area. We 
> also saw a few HORNED LARKS elsewhere along Fenner Road that day, and 
> today we saw some just north of Fenner on Davis Rd.
> --Dave Nutter
> PS - Apologies to those who found this message redundant. After I 
> first sent it to CayugaBirds-L I realized it was in the form which 
> turns to garbage on some people’s email (including Peter’s!) and on 
> the digests and archives, so I this time it is in a form that I hope 
> is legible all those ways. I’m trying to get in the habit of sending 
> messages to Cayugabirds in this more universally readable way, but 
> sometimes I forget.
>
> On Jan 08, 2016, at 07:30 PM, Peter  > wrote:
>
>>
>> Hi folks.
>> Pulled into my driveway today only to see a bunch of cowbirds (both 
>> male and females) scurrying around the ground going after spilled 
>> feed.  Am wondering if there are any other reports of cowbirds out there.
>> Thanks.
>> Pete Saracino
>>
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com 
> Version: 2016.0.7294 / Virus Database: 4489/11371 - Release Date: 01/10/16
>


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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[Dave Nutter]

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[cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[Dave Nutter]

Peter, 
On the afternoon of 5 January Ann Mitchell & I saw a flock of about 25 
BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS, males & females, on the shoulder of Fenner Rd near 
NYS-34B, which is in the northwest corner of the Town of Lansing in Tompkins 
County. They were not present during a couple of more recent visits. They were 
first-of-year for both of us. I think the cowbirds wander. Several MOURNING 
DOVES were also on the road shoulder that day, but they flushed separately and 
did remain in the area. We also saw a few HORNED LARKS elsewhere along Fenner 
Road that day, and today we saw some just north of Fenner on Davis Rd. 
--Dave Nutter
PS - Apologies to those who found this message redundant. After I first sent it 
to CayugaBirds-L I realized it was in the form which turns to garbage on some 
people’s email (including Peter’s!) and on the digests and archives, so I this 
time it is in a form that I hope is legible all those ways. I’m trying to get 
in the habit of sending messages to Cayugabirds in this more universally 
readable way, but sometimes I forget. 

On Jan 08, 2016, at 07:30 PM, Peter  wrote:

> 
> Hi folks.
> Pulled into my driveway today only to see a bunch of cowbirds (both male and 
> females) scurrying around the ground going after spilled feed.  Am wondering 
> if there are any other reports of cowbirds out there.
> Thanks.
> Pete Saracino
> 
>>  

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[cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[Peter]

Hi folks.
Pulled into my driveway today only to see a bunch of cowbirds (both male 
and females) scurrying around the ground going after spilled feed.  Am 
wondering if there are any other reports of cowbirds out there.
Thanks.
Pete Saracino

> --
> *Cayugabirds-L List Info:*
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>
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com 
> Version: 2016.0.7294 / Virus Database: 4489/11349 - Release Date: 01/07/16
>
>
>
> 
> *Heavy rains mean flooding*
> Anywhere it rains it can flood. Learn your risk. Get flood insurance.
> https://ad.doubleclick.net/ddm/clk/296043998;123050234;f
>  
>  


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[cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds

[Donna Scott]

3 male, 1 female BROWN HEADED COWBIRDS at my hanging tray bird feeder just now. 

Sent from my iPhone
Donna Scott
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[cayugabirds-l] cowbirds

[Bill Mcaneny]

We have a sign of Spring, however unwelcome. There are about 20 BROWN
COWBIRDS on our platform feeder this a.m.  About two-thirds are males and
the rest females.
 
Bill and Shirley McAneny,  TBurg

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[cayugabirds-l] Cowbirds and Rough-legged Hawk

[bilbaker]

Yesterday afternoon around 3:30I had 3 Brown-headed Cowbirds show up at my
feeders in Caroline Center.

Shortly after 8 this morning while driving on Warren Rd I found a
Rough-legged Hawk sitting on a small Cedar(?) across the road from the
airport. 

Bill
Baker

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