The Bronzed Cowbird (Molothrus aeneus) is a small, stocky blackbird native to the southwestern United States and much of Mexico and Central America. In Arizona, it is most often encountered in the southern counties, particularly in desert grasslands, agricultural areas, and open woodlands where livestock or bird feeders provide foraging opportunities. Males are glossy black with a distinctive reddish eye, while females are duller gray-brown. Like other cowbirds, this species is an obligate brood parasite—it does not build its own nest but instead lays its eggs in the nests of other birds, especially smaller songbirds such as sparrows, doves, and orioles. Host parents raise the young cowbird, often at the expense of their own chicks. In Arizona, Bronzed Cowbirds are summer residents that arrive in spring to breed and depart in fall, although some may linger through mild winters. Their distribution has expanded northward in the past century, and they are now a regular component of Arizona’s avifauna, easily recognized by the male’s peculiar hovering “flight-song” display.
Raising the ruff on its nape during breeding display,