[bcbirdclub] Strange Cowbird Behavior

  • From: "Roger Mayhorn" <rmayhorn@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "BCBC Listserve" <bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:06:47 -0400

This past Sunday I received a call from the guy in charge of the Mountaintop 
Golf Course here on Compton Mt. He said that a bird at the course was acting 
strangely. It was following people around, riding in golf carts with people and 
walking around underfoot. I drove out there with camera in hand. When I arrived 
I found a  juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird feeding with some Mourning Doves. The 
doves and cowbird took to the air but the cowbird after circling a bit settled 
back immediately to feed. This was the bird I had been called about. While I 
was there the bird flew to the cab of a pickup and sat there awhile. It then 
flew down to where we were sitting and began walking around at our feet. It got 
a drink from a dog's bowl and began scouring the floor around us for food. At 
times it was only a couple of feet away, which gave me great opportunities for 
photographing it. One guy offered it some seed from his hand and the bird 
started to take it then backed off just a bit. It finally humped up next to one 
of the chairs where we were sitting and sat there with its head cocked to one 
side like a child listening to the converation of the adults.
It was stil there walking around sometime later when I left. I don't know if 
the bird's tameness came from the fact that it was a juvenile and had not yet 
developed a fear of humans, or if it had been someone's pet. Being a juvenile 
it would have been hatched this breeding season. At any rate it was interesting.

Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
 

Attachment: 2009_8_23 Brown-headed Cowbird_crs.jpg
Description: JPEG image

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