Caught in the Act

This is a scene you do not want to see in your nest box of choice. A cousin sent me this photo a week ago and wondered what bird might be making a nest on top of a Phoebe nest? Well, the Brown Headed Cowbird will do just that and this is a classic crime scene photo of a brood parasite in action. These aggressive birds are a threat to too many of our songbirds, particularly neotropical migrants, and those eggs will simply have to go. Mark this one, folks. If you see a bird looking like this one around your nest boxes, you definitely have a problem and need to set things right. I trust my cousin has helped those Phoebes out. And I am sure the Cowbird still did fine.