A Bug for Baby
Orange-crowned Warbler (Oreothlypis celata)
Rithet's Bog,Saanich, BC
This little warbler had a nice earwig to feed to her baby, and baby was waiting for it. But the baby "warbler" that got fed the bug was almost twice the size of its "mother": a Cowbird! This poor overworked warbler had been tricked into raising a a bird from an egg she did not lay. Cowbirds lay their eggs in other bird's nests, and don't seem to care about differences in size. They also sometimes push the host bird's eggs out of the nest, leaving her with only the Cowbird egg to hatch. Why the warbler didn't figure out that the Cowbird could not possibly be her baby is a mystery. She fed it several bugs in the half-hour I watched them. What I am wondering now is, does the Cowbird think it is a warbler? If so, how will it find a mate?
A Bug for Baby
Orange-crowned Warbler (Oreothlypis celata)
Rithet's Bog,Saanich, BC
This little warbler had a nice earwig to feed to her baby, and baby was waiting for it. But the baby "warbler" that got fed the bug was almost twice the size of its "mother": a Cowbird! This poor overworked warbler had been tricked into raising a a bird from an egg she did not lay. Cowbirds lay their eggs in other bird's nests, and don't seem to care about differences in size. They also sometimes push the host bird's eggs out of the nest, leaving her with only the Cowbird egg to hatch. Why the warbler didn't figure out that the Cowbird could not possibly be her baby is a mystery. She fed it several bugs in the half-hour I watched them. What I am wondering now is, does the Cowbird think it is a warbler? If so, how will it find a mate?