Length: 8.75 inches | Wingspan: 14 inches | Seasonality: Non-resident in South Dakota |
ID Keys: Males dark with glossy blue wings. Females grayish overall with red eye. |
The
Bronzed Cowbird is a cowbird species of Central America and Mexico with a
range that crosses into the southwestern United States. Like the more
common and widespread Brown-headed
Cowbird of the U.S., Bronzed Cowbirds are brood parasites, laying their
eggs in the nests of other species. Female Bronzed Cowbirds will lay a
single egg in the nest of another species about once a week, a behavior that
may last for several weeks. She will also often destroy existing eggs
in the nest, leaving the parent to raise her young. As with the
Brown-headed Cowbird, they appear to have adapted well to a human presence,
and have significantly expanded their geographic range over the last 100
years. They used to be absent from Arizona, but are now commonly found
there, and are also much more common in Texas than they were historically.
Click below for a higher-resolution map |
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South Dakota Status: Non-resident in South Dakota |