Juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird raised by Yellow Warblers

[Geoffrey Montagu]

The other day I spotted a couple of Yellow Warblers jumping around on a birch tree overhanging a local canal. In a tree just next to the birch, I noticed this juvenile BHCO, no sooner than one of the YEWA flew in and started feeding it. Pretty interesting having not witnessed this before.

The BHCO is a parasitic bird and the female can produce as many as 36 eggs in a season, all in the nests of other birds, to be raised by the foster parents.

I realize the perch is rather large, but the light was far better than the images I captured in the dense foliage you see in the BG. C&C welcome.

D700, Nikon 500mm + 1.4x tc, 1/400, f7.1, ff-BB -3.0 EV, Gitzo tripod, Wimberley gimbal head.





Geoffrey

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Geoffrey, the central placement of the two birds work well, as does capturing the interaction between the two - interesting behaviour. I feel the cowbird is a touch oversharpened.

[Bill Dix]

I can appreciate how difficult it was to get these two in the open. The POV is unfortunately steep, but the interaction is the point here, and you captured it with open beak on the cowbird and prey in the warbler's beak. Most interesting. I've witnessed this between a large young cowbird chasing around a tiny Chipping Sparrow 'parent', but never with a warbler.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Thanks Stuart and Bill.




Geoffrey