Cowbirds parasitize something like 230 different species. This year I
have already seen song sparrows with cowbird chicks and red-winged
blackbirds with cowbird chicks. In fact, yesterday there was a small
flock of Red-wings with at least 3 juvvy BHCOs mixed in.

Michael Hobbs wrote:
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Jo Powell <jhpowell at iea.com>
>
> > Hi, all:
> >
> > Over the past few months I have had quite a few song sparrow fledglings
> > showing up at the suet blocks. A couple one week, then one or two younger
> > ones the next week and so on during June and July. About 3 weeks ago a song
> > sparrow kept coming to the block with two fledgling cowbirds it was trying
> > to feed; those are really BIG babies. The song sparrows have obviously been
> > quite successful here (outside Spokane - rural area/stream/brush) but are
> > also being parasitized. Are they usual victims? It seems to me someone on
> > Tweeters posted something about seeing a song sparrow feeding cowbird
> > young. The second part of my comment/question is about Spotted Towhees.
>
> I reported on a Song Sparrow feeding a BHCO chick at Marymoor last year. I'm
> pretty sure I've seen one this year too (I can't find my notes right now
> either). I have never seen a Towhee feeding a cowbird. Perhaps they are big
> enough to eject the egg?
>
> == Michael Hobbs
> == Kirkland WA
> == hummer at isomedia.com

--
Mike Patterson The common view of science is that it is a sort of machine
Astoria, OR for increasing the race's store of dependable facts.
mpatters at oregonvos.net It is that only in part; in even larger part
it is a machine for upsetting undependable facts.

----- H.L.Mencken
http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters/bird/bird.html