Unlimited edition. 18 x 24 inch, museum-quality poster on matte paper.

During a summer trip in 2022, I watched several different Louisiana waterthrushes feed their fledglings along a creek in southeastern Indiana. But not all of the fledglings were young waterthrushes; some were brown-headed cowbirds. Cowbirds are North America’s most common and widespread “brood parasite.” That means a female cowbird doesn’t construct her own nest; instead, she lays her eggs in the nests of other bird species. Some host species recognize the cowbird egg and will attempt to destroy it or build more nest over it so that the egg is unable to hatch, but most hosts *don’t* realize they’ve been had, and they brood the egg as if it were part of their own clutch. Once the baby cowbird has hatched, it aggressively out-begs its nest mates, sometimes pecking them to death to ensure there’s less competition. In Indiana, each of the adult waterthrushes I saw with a cowbird fledgling were unaccompanied by other chicks; presumably, the baby waterthrushes had been killed or starved to death.

This approach to reproduction understandably horrifies most people, and the brown-headed cowbird is fairly unpopular as a result. Some may view the bird’s dark color column as a representation of its villainy, an avian Voldemort. Yet, if we accept brood parasitism as the fascinating and rare evolved behavior it is, no matter how uncomfortable it makes us, perhaps we can better appreciate the species. To be sure, their burgeoning population and rapid range expansion threaten some endangered bird species (that cowbirds regularly target); therefore, thoughtful management is called for. Vilifying the species outright, however, is misguided.

Note: These archival poster prints feature rich, appealing colors. I encourage customers to take care in handling them until they are framed/protected for display; the darker colors on the matte paper can be scratched. They ship rolled, so customers need to flatten them before framing (or have their framer do so).

Charitable Sales Model: Whenever one of these poster prints is purchased, a charitable contribution equal to 10% of the print’s cost (or $3.60) is made to a nonprofit working to tackle environmental or social challenges. Read more about my charitable sales model here.