Brown-headed Cowbird Couple

I'm assuming this was a Brown-headed Cowbird couple, though being obligate brood parasites (I've talked about that here) we don't see obvious couple behaviors like nest-building or nestling-feeding. (I was a little surprised to learn that Brown-headed Cowbirds tend to be monogamous, since after mating it's unclear that a pair needs anything from their partner.)

While the males tend to be black with brown heads, the females are more of a beige color. (She might look light gray to you, perhaps due to the lighting.) It should be pretty easy to identify each in the picture below.

What's Mrs. Cowbird saying? Perhaps she's warning her mate that my camera and I are in the vicinity. Or maybe she's telling him to pick up some grasshoppers for dinner if he's heading out.

June 12, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 209946491, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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