I was suprised to see it feeding the cowbird. It was feeding it millet.

Thanks for the reply

Jerry and Sandy Converse
Grand Coulee, WA

Deb Beutler wrote:

> I didn't see any replies to this question so I thouht I would field it.
> Fringillids, in general, are poor hosts for cowbirds. Both House
> Finches and American Goldfinches have been studied and both do not raise
> cowbirds to fledgling. In both cases, they feeding their young seeds and
> the young cowbirds starve to death (they require insects to grow). I don't
> know of any research with other fringillids such as siskins, rosy-finches,
> crossbills, Evening Grosbeaks, or Pine Grosbeaks. I don't think Pine
> Siskins would be good hosts but it would depend on what they feed their
> nestlings. If they feed them seeds, they couldn't raise cowbird chicks. If
> they feed their chicks insects, it is possible for them to raise cowbird chicks.
> My best guess would be that the siskin was just responding to the
> begging behavior of the cowbird. There are many published accounts of adult
> birds feeding fledglings that were not their own. There is even a published
> report of an American Robin feeding a goldfish in a garden pond! It is
> thought that the adult birds simply can't ignore begging young.
> I will try to remember to look up records of Pine Siskins raising
> cowbirds.
>
> Cheers
> Deb
>
>
> At 10:33 AM 08/07/98 -0700, you wrote:
> >At our feeder today we saw a Pine Siskin feeding a begging juvinile
> >Brown-headed
> >Cowbird. Is it possible that the PISI raised the BHCO, Or was the PISI
> >just responding to the begging, and It happened to be a BHCO.
> >
> >Jerry and Sandy Converse
> >Grand Coulee, WA
> >
> >
> Deborah K. Beutler
> Department of Zoology
> Washington State University
> Pullman, WA
>
> dbeutler at wsunix.wsu.edu