On 5 June 2003, a female Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) was found dead in a Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) cavity nest near Bucyrus in Crawford County, Ohio. The cowbird had little room in the cavity and likely could not remove itself after laying an egg. Carolina Chickadee nests are rarely parasitized by brood parasites, and the size of their cavity entrances likely limits parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds. This is the first known instance of a Brown-headed Cowbird mortality after laying an egg in the cavity nest of a host species.
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1 September 2006
Brown-headed Cowbird's Fatal Attempt to Parasitize a Carolina Chickadee Nest
David A. Zuwerink,
James S. Marshall
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The Wilson Journal of Ornithology
Vol. 118 • No. 3
September 2006
Vol. 118 • No. 3
September 2006