Brown-headed Cowbird Photo Gallery

Adult male

Chunky blackbird with a thick, conical bill. Adult males have black bodies and brown heads, which can appear all black in poor light.

Female

Stocky blackbird with a short tail and a thick, conical bill. Female Brown-headed Cowbirds are plain brown, lightest on the head and underparts, with fine streaking on the belly and a dark eye.

Adult male

Often ruffles neck feathers when singing. Song includes thin, high notes and a liquid burbling sound (other calls in background are Red-winged Blackbirds.) Note thick, sharply pointed bill.

Juvenile

Juveniles are brown overall with a scaly-looking back and streaked underparts.

Immature male

Immature males molting into adult plumage are patchy brown and black.

Female

Females are plain brown with very little streaking. The short, thick-based, sharply pointed bill is a key mark.

Juvenile (with Chipping Sparrow)

Lays eggs in the nest of other birds, which raise cowbird young. Here a Chipping Sparrow feeds a juvenile cowbird as if it were her own.

Adult male

Adult males and females

Highly social: forages and displays on the ground in open areas. Displaying males puff out feathers, point bill at the sky, and bow forward and raise tail.

Adult male

Female

Adult males

Originally lived around herds of bison, foraging on insects stirred up as the animals grazed. Now often seen on and around cows and other livestock.

Adult male

Highly gregarious. Males often raise their back and chest feathers, lift their wings, spread their tail feathers, and bow forward when singing.

Adult male and female

Found in open habitats such as fields, pastures, meadows, forest edges, and lawns. When not displaying or feeding on the ground, they often perch high on prominent tree branches.