Brown-headed cowbird

Birders tend to really appreciate our avian fellow beings, although I have recently found that this bird seems to evoke a lot of antipathy from them. I have never heard anyone say anything nice about the cowbird but only remark on how they wish they would stay out of their yards. They dislike these "parasites" intensely because they lay their eggs in other birds' nests so that other birds raise them. When the cowbird is bigger than the host bird (e.g., a bluebird, chickadee), it will often hatch first and then the parents' own brood often don't make it. That is sad indeed. Still, I find these very attractive birds. The female is in the first photos and she is with a male in the last photo.