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I saw Cowbirds for the first time this year. They looked like House Finches, but were visibly bigger.
Female Cowbird.
Female Cowbirds are brood parasites, laying their eggs in other birds’ nests, and letting their children be raised by other birds. These new Cowbirds appeared with the bunch of House Finches that we usually see around our bird feeder, so maybe they had House Finches as surrogate parents and siblings.
Female Cowbird.
For comparison, here’s a shot of a male House Finch.
Male House Finch.
Because of their aggressive brood parasitism, Cowbirds are said to be a threat to other bird specie by overwhelming and outgrowing them
neihtn 
You’re house finches are very colourful and I’ve never heard of a cowbird before!😀
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Me neither, until I saw these large “House Finches”,and decided to investigate. Thanks for commenting, Elle!
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I suppose that they have their place in the grand scheme of nature, but cowbirds rank at the bottom of the list of my favorite species of birds. That said, your photos of them are very good.
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Those two Cowbirds are not appearing any longer. Maybe they prefer insects to seeds. Thanks for commenting Jerry!
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Interesting name : “Cowbird”. Any idea why they are so named, Hien?
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Dries, I had to look this one up: Cowbirds live on grasslands and attach themselves to cattle. They sit on them and watch for insects stirred up by cattle to catch and eat them. That is also why they developed the habit of laying their eggs in other birds’ nests, so that they can concentrate on staying with the cows and look for food.
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Most interesting – thanks, Hien!
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No one likes a parasite, but I expect that they have their place in nature. Great photos, Hien!
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Thank you Eliza!
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We see cowbirds in our garden quite often and have observed smaller birds such as finches feeding the young ones, so can only assume that they have hatched out in these bird’s nests. Lovely pictures!
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Sometimes juvenile Cowbirds may be bigger than their surrogate parents, who still feed them as if they were their own brood. Thank you Sue for commenting.
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