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Not all birds take to parenting. The Brown-headed cowbird lays her eggs in other birds’ nests, and leaves them to raise the nestlings.
Brown-headed cowbirds don’t exactly make the best parents. They drop their eggs in other birds’ nests and leave it to those birds to do the hatching and raising. As BirdNote®’s Michael Stein tells us, the yellow warbler is a frequent recipient of the cowbird’s eggs.
In the photo–The Brown-headed Cowbird lays her eggs in other birds’ nests. (Photo: Tom Grey ©)