lp@well.sf.ca.us (Lily Pond) (06/13/91)
What did I just see??? It looked to be a little smaller than a towhee, with the coloring, maybe, of some kind of blackbird (but they've never come to my feeder before!). I think also (coincidentally?), at the same moment, this year's baby towhees came for the first time! The amazing thing about this bird was that it (they -- I think there were three -- it's just that the light was really bad) -- it kept doing this: it would puff up its feathers, spread out and "cup" its wings, gurgle, bow, and then trill! The tree of them kept doing it over and over on my "feeder" which is actually just an old crate with some birdseed sprinkled in it on my porch. The baby towhees looked on amazed, and their mom kept squeeking from the roof. I'm in Berkeley, California, by the way.
dmark@acsu.buffalo.edu (David Mark) (06/13/91)
In article <25412@well.sf.ca.us> lp@well.sf.ca.us (Lily Pond) writes:
]
]What did I just see??? It looked to be a little smaller than a towhee, with
]the coloring, maybe, of some kind of blackbird (but they've never come to my
]feeder before!). I think also (coincidentally?), at the same moment, this
]year's baby towhees came for the first time!
]
]The amazing thing about this bird was that it (they -- I think there were
]three -- it's just that the light was really bad) -- it kept doing this:
]it would puff up its feathers, spread out and "cup" its wings, gurgle, bow,
]and then trill! The tree of them kept doing it over and over on my "feeder"..
They were Brown-headed Cowbirds. You witnessed the male's "courtship
display". Cowbirds are North America's only "nest parasites". They lay
an egg in the nest of some other species, which then raises the baby
cowbird instead of its own. Some people think that is "bad" or "evil",
but that is applying human values. Cowbirds are native species, and that
happens to be the way they reproduce! Of course, they have increased
in number and expanded their range during the last few hundred years due to
agriculture and other land clearing, so they now are a threat to species that
they did not come in contact with until recently, and which thus have no
behavioral counter-cowbird mechanisms. There are three cowbird species
in the US: Brown-headed is widespread; Red-eyed (or Bronzed) is only in
the southern parts of the southwest, and (very recently) Glossy in Florida.
David Mark
dmark@sun.acsu.buffalo.eduwww@ingres.com (Bill White) (06/15/91)
In article <25412@well.sf.ca.us> lp@well.sf.ca.us (Lily Pond) writes: > >What did I just see??? It looked to be a little smaller than a towhee, with ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >the coloring, maybe, of some kind of blackbird (but they've never come to my >feeder before!). I think also (coincidentally?), at the same moment, this >year's baby towhees came for the first time! > >The amazing thing about this bird was that it (they -- I think there were >three -- it's just that the light was really bad) -- it kept doing this: >it would puff up its feathers, spread out and "cup" its wings, gurgle, bow, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >and then trill! The tree of them kept doing it over and over on my "feeder" ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Sounds like a red winged blackbird. Maybe female or immature? >which is actually just an old crate with some birdseed sprinkled in it on my >porch. > >The baby towhees looked on amazed, and their mom kept squeeking from the >roof. > >I'm in Berkeley, California, by the way.
lp@well.sf.ca.us (Lily Pond) (06/16/91)
Thanks to everyone who responded to this query!! The main consensus seems to be that it was a brown-headed cowbird. Apparently, their having been seen in town is not unheard of -- and yes, it does match the pictures in my bird book. However . . . there is an interesting disagreement as to what "the dance" represents. One person suggests it is a mating dance, not unlike the dance of the sage grouse, which is also a native of prarie areas, and that what I had though might be baby towhees were more likely female cowbirds. The second suggestion is that the babies were baby cowbirds who had had their eggs placed in a towhee nest, and that the dance was for the purpose of arousing in those baby cowbirds' hearts a resounding recognition. So, what do you think? I kind of tlike that second one, but the first seems more realistic . . . . Anyone else with a guess? And thank you.
dmark@acsu.buffalo.edu (David Mark) (06/16/91)
In article <25476@well.sf.ca.us> lp@well.sf.ca.us (Lily Pond) writes: >However . . . there is an interesting disagreement as to what "the >dance" represents. One person suggests it is a mating dance, not >unlike the dance of the sage grouse, which is also a native of prarie >areas, and that what I had though might be baby towhees were more >likely female cowbirds. Very likely. I cannot remember ever seeing a male Brown-headed Cowbird displaying without there being a female present. Two males were displaying to/at a female on my back lawn this afternoon. >The second suggestion is that the babies were baby cowbirds who had >had their eggs placed in a towhee nest, and that the dance was for the >purpose of arousing in those baby cowbirds' hearts a resounding recognition. Seems pretty unlikely to me. I am not familiar with any such system in use by other birds, either. >So, what do you think? I kind of tlike that second one, but the first seems >more realistic . . . . Anyone else with a guess? Immature cowbirds are very steaked below, and kind-of scaly above. Adult female cowbirds are quite uniform gray-brown above, slightly streaked below. It also seems a little unlikely that juvenile towhees would be at a feeder without parents-- were there any adult towhees at the feeder at the time? David Mark dmark@sun.acsu.buffalo.edu
lp@well.sf.ca.us (Lily Pond) (06/17/91)
David Mark asks: Immature cowbirds are very steaked below, and kind-of scaly above. Adult female cowbirds are quite uniform gray-brown above, slightly streaked below. It also seems a little unlikely that juvenile towhees would be at a feeder without parents-- were there any adult towhees at the feeder at the time? There are =always= adult towhees around my feeder, and yes, there were, specifically at that time. And the light was too poor to give an accurate description of the female/baby/whatever. But I do recall thinking it was a baby from its less than perfect looking feathers and its "baby" face -- (oh, you know what I mean).