BirdBrain Academy

Blackbirds and Orioles · Icteridae

Brown-headed Cowbird sounds

Molothrus ater

The Brown-headed Cowbird is a small brood-parasitic icterid native to temperate and subtropical North America.

Learn bird sounds freeMore Brown-headed Cowbird recordings
Brown-headed Cowbird
Photo: Bear golden retriever from Auburn, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Listen to the Brown-headed Cowbird

Each recording below is a short excerpt with its spectrogram, a picture of the sound. Time runs left to right and higher pitches sit higher up. Play each one, then look for the same shape in the next. Different recordings of the same bird help you learn the bird, not one clip.

Call · recording 1 Spectrogram of a Brown-headed Cowbird call: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, Bancroft Neighborhood, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, 2016-04-19. XC320357 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 4.0. Five-second excerpt.

Call, Song · recording 2 Spectrogram of a Brown-headed Cowbird call, song: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, Wild River State Park, Chisago County, Minnesota, 2014-05-11. XC178138 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 4.0. Five-second excerpt.

Song · recording 3 Spectrogram of a Brown-headed Cowbird song: time runs left to right and pitch rises upward

Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma, Miesville Ravine Park Reserve, Goodhue County, Minnesota, 2014-04-18. XC175228 on xeno-canto, CC BY-SA 4.0. Five-second excerpt.

What to listen for

What it looks like

The Brown-headed Cowbird has an icterid shape, a finch-like head and beak, and a smaller build. Adult males are iridescent black with brown heads, while females are dull gray with pale throats and fine streaking below.

Where to find it

It lives in open or semiopen country, often traveling in flocks and foraging on the ground near grazing animals. The Brown-headed Cowbird lays its eggs in the nests of other small passerines, where host parents raise its young.

BirdBrain regions that include this bird

  • Alaska
  • California
  • Caribbean
  • Eastern Canada
  • Florida
  • Great Lakes
  • Mexico
  • Mid-Atlantic
  • New England
  • Northwest
  • Plains
  • Polynesia
  • Rocky Mountains
  • Southeast
  • Southwest
  • Texas
  • Western Canada

Did you know?

  • Its eggs have been documented in nests of at least 220 host species.
  • Females can lay up to 40 eggs in a season.
  • Before European settlement, Brown-headed Cowbirds followed bison herds across the prairies.

Learn the Brown-headed Cowbird by ear

BirdBrain Academy teaches bird sounds with side-by-side listening and quizzes that use different recordings, so you learn the bird rather than one clip. Start with six free lessons, no signup needed. On your phone, Sound ID can name the birds singing around you.

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Related birds

Species notes are adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and checked for BirdBrain. Recordings come from xeno-canto under the licenses shown with each one. Photo: Bear golden retriever from Auburn, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Identification guidance is educational; birds vary, so confirm unusual sightings with local experts or eBird.