** Reply to note from tweeters at u.washington.edu on Wed, 22 Apr 1998 00:10:55 PDT

> Oh, if only that were true. Unfortunately, cowbirds rarely parasitize House
> Sparrows because they build a covered nest and cowbirds prefer open nests.
> Same goes for the starlings and other cavity nesters.

Heard an interesting snippet the other day about cowbirds but can't remember
just where. It appears that DNA fingerprinting of female cowbirds has revealed
that the "biological mother" of a cowbird fledgling will stick around the foster
parents nest(s) and gather up all her young ones. It is believed it is in this
way that young cowbirds grow to know that they are really cowbirds and not
sparrows, etc. Fascinating if this is the case and shines a gentler light on
this often maligned species.

- Jack

==========================
Jack Bowling
Prince George, BC
jbowling at direct.ca