Bronzed Cowbird
Molothrus aeneus
Male Bronzed Cowbirds look spectacular. With their shiny black feathers, refracting hints of indigo and ruby eyes burning like camp-fire embers, they are eye-candy. A mane of long neck feathers lends an appearance of power and big-headedness. Bronzed Cowbirds are resident in most of Mexico. But we also find them year-round on the Mississippi Delta in Louisiana, the far south of Texas, and to a certain extent, southern Arizona and New Mexico.
Today, science recognises four subspecies of Bronzed Cowbird:
- M. a. aeneus lives in New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.
- M. a. loyei lives in northwest Mexico, southeast California, Arizona and New Mexico.
- M. a. assimilis lives in southern Mexico.
- M. a. armenti lives on the Caribbean coast of South America.
Like other cowbirds, these birds lay their eggs in the nests of others, leaving their victims to raise the young trespassers. Cowbird babies out-compete their victim’s young and rarely do any, but the cowbird babies survive.
I never met Bronzed Cowbirds until my visit to Texas in the spring of 2020. But once I settled in at Brownsville, I seemed to find them at many of the locations I visited in the region. I enjoyed watching their courtship ceremonies as the male performed a helicopter flight above his intended mate.
19 Photos
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
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Description: Texas is a good place to meet this bird in the summer. Atascosa NWR was a short drive from my camp in Brownsville, Texas, and remained open during the COVID-19 crisis, when many other nearby birding hotspots shut down. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:20 10:47 |
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Location:
Atascosa NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_D504596-Atascosa-NWR |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
|
Description: Texas is a good place to meet this bird in the summer. Atascosa NWR was a short drive from my camp in Brownsville, Texas, and remained open during the COVID-19 crisis, when many other nearby birding hotspots shut down. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:20 10:47 |
|
Location:
Atascosa NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 550 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_D504599-Atascosa-NWR |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
|
Description: Texas is a good place to meet this bird in the summer. Atascosa NWR was a short drive from my camp in Brownsville, Texas, and remained open during the COVID-19 crisis, when many other nearby birding hotspots shut down. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:20 15:56 |
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Location:
Atascosa NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/500 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_D504830-Atascosa-NWR |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
|
Description: Texas is a good place to meet this bird in the summer. Atascosa NWR was a short drive from my camp in Brownsville, Texas, and remained open during the COVID-19 crisis, when many other nearby birding hotspots shut down. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:20 15:57 |
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Location:
Atascosa NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/400 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_D504835-Atascosa-NWR |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
|
Description: Texas is a good place to meet this bird in the summer. Atascosa NWR was a short drive from my camp in Brownsville, Texas, and remained open during the COVID-19 crisis, when many other nearby birding hotspots shut down. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:20 16:36 |
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Location:
Atascosa NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_D505109-Atascosa-NWR |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
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Description: Bronzed Cowbirds are known for their thick-necked appearance, which results from their ability to raise the feathers on their necks. My third visit to Atascosa NWR in South Texas was intended to pickup images of a couple of the birds I came up short with on my second visit. But then I started meeting new birds and I stayed all day. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:24 10:13 |
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Location:
Atascosa NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/640 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_D505820-Atascosa-NWR |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
|
Description: Bronzed Cowbirds are known for their thick-necked appearance, which results from their ability to raise the feathers on their necks. My third visit to Atascosa NWR in South Texas was intended to pickup images of a couple of the birds I came up short with on my second visit. But then I started meeting new birds and I stayed all day. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:24 14:47 |
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Location:
Atascosa NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/250 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_D507153-Atascosa-NWR |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
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Description: Brownsville Texas is one of the few places north of Mexico where the Bronzed Cowbird is a year-round resident. This bird enjoyed the sunflower seeds offered in the camp where I spent April in Brownsville, Texas has a "Reseca" or Oxbow lake on its border, Several feeder stations, with tall trees and grassy areas. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:25 19:10 |
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Location:
Breeze Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/160 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_D508072-Breeze-Lake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
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Description: Resaca de las Palmas in Brownsville, Texas opened to the public a few days before I left Texas on my 2020 expedition. This male Bronzed Cowbird was courting a nearby female. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:29 9:34 |
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Location:
Resaca de las Palmas |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/640 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_D509127-Resaca-de-las-Palmas |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
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Description: This was my first encounter with the Bronzed Cowbird. I found these birds at a well stocked feeder in camp where I stayed in Brownsville Texas. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:17 15:36 |
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Location:
Breeze Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_D503121-Breeze-Lake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
|
Description: This was my first encounter with the Bronzed Cowbird. I found these birds at a well stocked feeder in camp where I stayed in Brownsville Texas. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:17 15:36 |
|
Location:
Breeze Lake |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/640 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_D503108-Breeze-Lake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
|
Description: This was my first encounter with the Bronzed Cowbird. I found these birds at a well stocked feeder in camp where I stayed in Brownsville Texas. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:17 16:45 |
|
Location:
Breeze Lake |
|
Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_D503703-Breeze-Lake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
|
Description: This was my first encounter with the Bronzed Cowbird. I found these birds at a well stocked feeder in camp where I stayed in Brownsville Texas. |
Date Taken: 2020:04:17 15:30 |
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Location:
Breeze Lake |
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Camera Information: NIKON D500, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1250 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_D503053-Breeze-Lake-TX |
| © 2020 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
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Description: Before I settled in at my campsite at Davis Mountains State Park, I stopped at their “Wildlife Viewing Area”. The light wasn’t great, but the birds were pretty nice. |
Date Taken: 2023:07:04 15:28 |
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Location:
Davis Mountains State Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_Z9X9875_DavisMountains.SP-TX |
| © 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
|
Description: Before I settled in at my campsite at Davis Mountains State Park, I stopped at their “Wildlife Viewing Area”. The light wasn’t great, but the birds were pretty nice. |
Date Taken: 2023:07:04 15:28 |
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Location:
Davis Mountains State Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_Z9X9890_DavisMountains.SP-TX |
| © 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
|
Description: Before I settled in at my campsite at Davis Mountains State Park, I stopped at their “Wildlife Viewing Area”. The light wasn’t great, but the birds were pretty nice. |
Date Taken: 2023:07:04 15:29 |
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Location:
Davis Mountains State Park |
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Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_Z9X9994_DavisMountains.SP-TX |
| © 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
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Description: I spent a long, hot, Arizona summer day visiting the Paton Center for Hummingbirds in Patagonia. For much of this visit I experimented with camera settings (ISO), and I learned what *not* to do. |
Date Taken: 2023:07:13 17:45 |
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Location:
Paton Center for Hummingbirds |
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Camera Information: NIKON Z 9, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_Z9X4104_Patons-Patagonia-AZ |
| © 2023 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
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Description: To start my visit to ‘tropical Texas’ in 2024, I first stopped by Laguna Atascosa on my way to South Padre Island. It rarely disappoints me. Bronzed Cowbirds had not begun their ‘helicopter’ mating rituals on my April visit. |
Date Taken: 2024:04:14 12:56 |
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Location:
Laguna Atascosa NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/3200 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_8508628_LagunaAtascosa-TX |
| © 2024 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
Bronzed Cowbird(Molothrus aeneus) |
|
Description: To start my visit to ‘tropical Texas’ in 2024, I first stopped by Laguna Atascosa on my way to South Padre Island. It rarely disappoints me. Bronzed Cowbirds had not begun their ‘helicopter’ mating rituals on my April visit. |
Date Taken: 2024:04:14 13:19 |
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Location:
Laguna Atascosa NWR |
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Camera Information: NIKON D850, 800 mm, f/6.3, 1/800 |
File Name: BronzedCowbird_8508696_LagunaAtascosa-TX |
| © 2024 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |
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