CROFTON VILLAGE GARDEN CLUB
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • EXECUTIVE BOARD
    • AFFILIATIONS
    • CONTRIBUTIONS
    • AWARDS ARCHIVE >
      • 2023-2024
      • 2019-2020
      • 2018 – 2019
      • 2017 – 2018
      • 2016 – 2017
  • PROGRAMS
  • PROJECTS
    • PAST PROJECTS
  • MEMBERS
    • CALENDAR
    • CVGC BYLAWS
    • BAY-WISE MEMBERS
  • BLOG
  • RESOURCES
  • CONTACT

To promote and preserve the beauty of our community

THE BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD

5/10/2023

 
Picture
At our May meeting, member Paulette Heward shared an interesting story about a cowbird that laid an egg in her bluebird house, offering a firsthand look at this bird’s unusual behavior. Cowbirds earned their name from their habit of following herds of buffalo and cattle, feeding on the insects stirred up by the moving animals. Because their food source is always on the move, cowbirds don’t have time to build nests of their own. Instead, they lay their eggs in the nests of other songbirds—a behavior known as brood parasitism. In the spring, a female cowbird will perch in a tree and watch for other birds carrying nesting materials. Once she spots a potential host, she quietly sneaks in and lays a single egg, usually after the host bird has already laid its first egg. Her job done, she moves on to find another nest, potentially laying up to forty eggs in different nests over a single season. While cowbirds are often seen as parasitic, their fascinating reproductive strategy is a unique adaptation to their nomadic lifestyle.

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    CATEGORIES

    All
    Awards
    Bay-Wise
    Birds & Butterflies
    Blue Star Memorial Garden
    Community
    Conservation
    Crofton Cherry Trees
    Crofton Library Gardens
    Design Exhibits
    District II
    DIY
    Events/Workshops
    FGCMD
    Flower Shows
    Fundraising
    Garden Therapy
    Garden Tour
    Giving Flowers
    Gold Star Memorial
    Holiday Decorating
    Honoring Our Troops
    Horticulture
    Invasives
    Memorial Garden
    Native Garden
    Operation Christmas
    Peace Circle Garden
    Pollinator Garden
    Pollinator Pathway
    Programs
    Projects
    Swann Park
    Youth Projects

​CROFTON VILLAGE GARDEN CLUB • P.O. BOX 3492 • CROFTON, MD 21114

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • EXECUTIVE BOARD
    • AFFILIATIONS
    • CONTRIBUTIONS
    • AWARDS ARCHIVE >
      • 2023-2024
      • 2019-2020
      • 2018 – 2019
      • 2017 – 2018
      • 2016 – 2017
  • PROGRAMS
  • PROJECTS
    • PAST PROJECTS
  • MEMBERS
    • CALENDAR
    • CVGC BYLAWS
    • BAY-WISE MEMBERS
  • BLOG
  • RESOURCES
  • CONTACT