Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)

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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):

* 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.

Remarks: x

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.

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.

Literature Cited