Why would an adult Northern Cardinal be feeding a baby Brown-Headed Cowbird? The answer simple: the young bird was born and raised in a Cardinal's nest.
In other words, the Cowbird believes (for now) that it is a Cardinal, and the Cardinal believes the baby to be a Cardinal, and that's all that matters. A brief explanation follows.
Brown-Headed Cowbirds, which are a type of flocking blackbird, evolved over time to become "brood parasites." As followers of nomadic animal herds, there sinply was no time to stop, nest or raise a family on their own.
As such, a Cowbird female will secretly scope out and locate an unsuspecting host, in this case a Cardinal, and secretly deposit an egg into that nest when an unsuspecting host pair is not looking. Then, they move on, although it is more recently known that Cowbirds may stick around an area and keep an eye on things from a distance as their offspring are being raised by other species.
The young Cowbird in the video has been born, grown and fledged from a Cardinal nest. Male Cardinals share in parental duties including feeding, so this adult male is bringing food to the recently fledged Cowbird as a matter of instinct. This really is its baby for all relevant purposes.
Humans sometimes try to interfere with these happenings when they spy Cowbirds depositing eggs in the nests of Cardinals, warblers or other species. It must be noted that it is illegal to harm, destroy or remove Cowbird eggs or to kill Cowbirds. They're just doing what they do and that ultimately must be respected.
What I find most fascinating is that, somewhere down the line toward maturity, a Cowbird raised by a completely different species from its own will find other Cowbirds to flock with and eventually pair up for mating. How do they know? What turns on that little light that says, "I'm a Cowbird and not a Cardinal."?
Does a biological parent, nanny or guide eventually come along and whisper in their ear?
Video July 8 by Dave, aka lefty, Kansas City, MO
14 окт 2024
