Another round of Who's that girl?

Around this time of the year, many people start seeing this kind of bird and wonder what it is. It was certainly one of my “struggle birds” in the beginning, too. However, it is fairly easy - this is a female Brownheaded Cowbird. In size, they are between a Robin and a Cardinal, and they have a soft trilling call. Cowbirds are known and often disliked for their breeding behavior. They are so-called brood parasites, meaning that they lay their eggs into other birds’ nests and let them raise their babies. This is not out of malice. They used to follow cattle around and never stayed anywhere long enough to build nests. This way of breeding ensured their survival as a species. Nowadays, there is less cattle roaming around and humans have taken over lots of habitat. The birds are still the same, and so we might witness one of nature’s oddities in the summer when for example tiny Chipping Sparrows feed one of their own babies but also a ginormous Cowbird baby. The human birdwatcher might feel bad and think about interfering, but remember that Cowbirds are native to the US and protected by law. Read up before you act.