SHINY COWBIRD
(Molothrus bonariensis)
Brunswick, Glynn Co., GA
text and photos by Earl Horn
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image to zoom in.  Male Shiny Cowbird, bottom right, with male Brown-headed Cowbird, left, and American Goldfinch, top right
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This particular bird was first observed and identified by Gene Keferl of Brunswick, GA. It appeared at his feeders in the company of a small flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) Sunday morning, 24 January 1999. This species is somewhat enigmatic to US birders, because it has just recently invaded the US, and it is either poorly treated in most of the popular North American field guides, or not treated at all. It is, however, covered in A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies (Raffaele, et. al., Princeton, 1998) and A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America (Howell and Webb, Oxford, 1995), among other guides which deal with the avifauna of South America. Because it is a nest parasite (i.e., the female lays its eggs in the nests of other species), it is generally an unwelcome immigrant. This species has spread from South America into the West Indies, and has been implicated as the prime suspect in the decline of several Caribbean endemics, including the critically endangered Yellow-shouldered Blackbird (Agelaius xanthomus) of Puerto Rico (Raffaele, et. al., 1998). Concern in Mexico has grown due to recent records from the Yucatan Peninsula, which is also home to several endemic species and sub-species (Wilson Bulletin, fide BirdLife International). References: The following species account was prepared by Earl Horn. Sunday, Jan. 24th, I went to Gene Keferl's home in Glynn County, Georgia to try to locate the Shiny Cowbird that he reported seeing earlier that morning on GABO [Georgia Birders Online]. I arrived at approximately 2:00 pm and met Gene outside his greenhouse. As he was telling me where to try looking, a small flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds landed in a nearby tree. Looking through binoculars, one of them appeared to be all black, including the head. I went back to my truck to get my scope and as I did so the bird moved to a closer tree. It was easy to see with binoculars, but was even better with the scope. It was indeed all black. It had the same shape and approximate size of the Brown-headed Cowbird but seemed to be a little slimmer. Even though the whole bird was black, its head was a deep iridescent blue-purple. Its bill was darker than the Brown-headed's and appeared to be slimmer and more pointed. A Brown-headed Cowbird landed on the same branch giving a great comparison between the two of them. The Records and Checklist Committee of the Georgia Ornithological Society has the Shiny Cowbird on the Provisional List. ADDENDUM: This bird was last observed on Friday, 29 January 1999, by Mike Chapman. Here is a copy of Mike's email sent to Georgia Birders Online: The shiny cowbird showed up at 1:00pm today. At 1:02 a sharp-shinned hawk flew in, captured the cowbird and flew away with it. Not much more can be said! |
Reviewed 21 Oct 2000
