Giant Cowbird Visits Panama Feeder Cam For First Time

Check out this first-time visitor to the Panama Fruit Feeder Cam at Canopy Lodge! Watch a Giant Cowbird alight on the left side of the feeder that’s populated with a flock of Chestnut-headed Oropendolas. If you watch closely, this seems to be a juvenile Giant Cowbird that’s begging for food from an adult oropendola.

Why would this individual beg for food from a different species? The answer lies in the unique breeding behavior of cowbirds. Cowbirds are brood parasites and do not build nests or offer any parental care to their young. Instead, they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds and rely on these host species to raise their young. Several species of oropendolas, including the Chestnut-headed Oropendola, are known hosts of Giant Cowbirds.