Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

 

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)

– 

Abundance: Common during spring, summer, and fall, and Uncommon during winter; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); the Regional breeding population is probably stable or perhaps slightly increasing, especially wherever forested landscapes are opened up by road-building or other transformations (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident.

Regional High Count and CBC/CBB High Count: 50,000 (4 January 1981; Pulaski County, Kentucky [Somerset CBC]; Jackie B. Elmore, Sr.); FBC/FBB High Count: 417 (4 October 2008; White County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 272 (14 May 2005; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent). The cowbird is a nest parasite, laying its eggs in the nests of many (100+) other species of passerines and allowing the host species to feed and to raise its young; some evidence exists to indicate that adult cowbirds feed fledged cowbirds, but whether these are their own young or the young of other cowbirds is unknown.

Habitat: x

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 47 (of 125) check-lists during 2003 and on 97 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, resulting in a YardWatch frequency classification of Fairly Common during each year; this YardWatch frequency classification indicates that the cowbird was a bit less frequently encountered in Regional yards and neighborhoods, especially during spring, summer, and fall, than in the Region as a whole.

 Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

County Dates when Foray Conducted Total Blocks
in County *
Total Blocks in which
Brown-headed Cowbird
Recorded
Total Individuals
Recorded
         
Adair 816 June 2014 46 43 390
Barren 1–6 June 2013 54 54 393
Clinton 12–14 June 2009 24 22 159
Cumberland 1620 June 2014 35 30 140
McCreary 30 May5 Jun 2011 51 37 133
Metcalfe 812 June 2013 32 31 166
Monroe 1–12 June 2015 35 33 209
Pulaski 511 June 2010 72 68 510
Russell 1316, 2629 June 2012 31 29 135
Wayne 28 May3 June 2012 54 49 234
         
Kentucky   434 (408) 396 (91.2%) 2469
         
Bledsoe 1824 June 2012 48 34 64
Clay 12–15 June 2010 30 30 330
Cumberland 29 May4 June 2010 75 66 302
DeKalb 2326 May 2008 40 38 150
Fentress 1117 June 2012 55 38 82
Jackson 29 May1 Jun 2009 40 34 206
Macon 1722 June 2013 32 28 115
Morgan 1–8 June 2014 58 38 112
Overton 2329 May 2011 47 44 403
Pickett 2225 May 2009 24 22 86
Putnam 6–12 June 2011 46 44 336
Scott 924 June 2016 62 33 61
Smith 1525 June 2015 37 33 92
Van Buren 13–15 June 2011 33 27 114
Warren 1–10 June 2016 47 34 109
White 1–6 June 2015 50 38 191
         
Tennessee   724 (651) 581 (80.2%) 2753
         
Region   1158 (c. 1059) 977 (84.4%) 5222

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarksx

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Barren Metcalfe Adair Russell Pulaski
Monroe Cumberland Clinton Wayne McCreary
Macon Clay Pickett Fentress Scott
Smith Jackson Overton Putnam Morgan
DeKalb White Cumberland
Warren Van Buren Bledsoe

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Burgess Falls SP, Putnam/White Counties, TN Barren River Lake SP, Barren County, KY
Cumberland Mountain SP, Cumberland County, TN General Burnside Island SP, Pulaski County, KY
Edgar Evins SP, DeKalb County, TN  
Fall Creek Falls SP, Bledsoe/Van Buren Counties, TN Pulaski County Park, Pulaski County, KY
Frozen Head SNA, Morgan County, TN Waitsboro Recreation Area, Pulaski County, KY
Rock Island SP, Warren/White Counties, TN  
Standing Stone SP, Overton County, TN Big South Fork NRRA, KY and TN
   
Cane Creek Park, Putnam County, TN  
Roaring River Recreation Area, Jackson County, TN  

Literature Cited