Shiny Cowbird

Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis)

Shiny Cowbird

Order : Passeriformes
Also known as Passerine’s or perching bird’s. Any member of the largest avian order which includes more than 5,700 species, more than half of all living birds. Passerines are true perching birds with four toed feet, three toes facing forward and one larger toe facing backwards.

Family : Blackbirds and Orioles (Icteridae)
The Icteridae is a family made up of 88 species of diverse songbirds from across the Americas including blackbirds, grackles, orioles, cowbirds, meadowlarks, and oropendolas. The majority of Icterids have black in the plumage with yellow also being a predominant colour in many species. Males are usually decidedly larger than females.

Name : Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis)
Length 18 - 20 cm (7 - 8 in)
Local Names : Lazy bird, Blackbird’s cousin.

Originally from South America, this species is considered a rather recent arrival to the West Indies. The male is black with a strong violet gloss, the female a greyish brown with the juvenile being similar to the female. The song is a series of loud, musical whistles and a melodious warble and also soft unmusical call notes.The Shiny Cowbird is omnivorous it’s diet consisting of insects and seeds. It is a bird of open countryside and suburban areas and may roost colonially with Grackles. The Cowbird is parasitic, the female laying her eggs in the nests of other, usually smaller species. The foster parents are left to rear the young Cowbird, quite often at the expense of their own young.



#Shiny Cowbird #Molothrus bonariensis #Blackbirds #Icteridae #Passeriformes #songbirds #birds of the West Indies #parasitic birds #birds #birds of Tobago #birds of Trinidad & Tobago


Bird identification images

Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) female

Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) juvenile

Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) male

Carib Grackle

Carib Grackle (Quiscalus lugubris)

Carib Grackle

Order : Passeriforme
Also known as Passerine’s or perching bird’s. Any member of the largest avian order which includes more than 5,700 species, more than half of all living birds. Passerine’s are true perching birds with four toed feet, three toes facing forward and one larger toe facing backwards.

Family : Blackbirds (Icteridae)
The Icteridae is a family made up of 88 species of diverse songbirds from across the Americas including blackbirds, grackles, orioles, cowbirds, meadowlarks, and oropendolas. The majority of Icterids have black in the plumage with yellow also being a predominant colour in many species. Males are usually decidedly larger than females.

Name :Carib Grackle (Quiscalus lugubris)
Length : 24 - 27 cm ( 9½ - 11 in)
Local Names : Blackbird, Bequia-sweet, Merle.

The male is a glossy purple black with a conspicuous yellow eye and the tail is long and keel-shaped. The female is smaller than the male and duller with a regular shaped tail, while juveniles are brown or mottled brown-black with brown eyes. The species roost and nests colonially building large cup shaped nests often high in palm or other trees. The call is a series of harsh clucks and squeaks often ending with a ringing bell like note. They feed mainly on insects, though they are known to eat seeds, and will readily take scraps, being just as much at home in open restaurants as in their more natural habitat of fields and mangroves.

#Carib Grackle #Quiscalus lugubris #Blackbirds #Icteridae #Passeriforme #Blackbird # Bequia-sweet #Merle #songbird #bird #birds of Tobago

Bird identification picures