Listen to the Giant cowbird
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the Giant cowbird
The Giant cowbird is a bird in the family Icteridae (order Passeriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”.
What does the Giant cowbird sound like?
Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round. Listening for both helps with identification.
The recordings here are labelled as calls, song and call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The giant cowbird (Molothrus oryzivorus) is a large passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It breeds from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina, and on Trinidad and Tobago. It may have relatively recently colonised the latter island. It is a brood parasite and lays its eggs in the nests of other birds.
Related birds in the genus Molothrus
More from the family Icteridae
Red-winged blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
Baltimore oriole
Icterus galbula
Venezuelan troupial
Icterus icterus
Common grackle
Quiscalus quiscula
Great-tailed grackle
Quiscalus mexicanus
Yellow-headed blackbird
Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
Yellow-rumped cacique
Cacicus cela
Eastern meadowlark
Sturnella magna
Crested oropendola
Psarocolius decumanus
Yellow-billed cacique
Amblycercus holosericeus
Frequently asked questions
What does a Giant cowbird sound like?
You can hear 3 recordings of the Giant cowbird on this page, including its calls, song and call. Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round.
Is the Giant cowbird endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Giant cowbird as “least concern”.
What family does the Giant cowbird belong to?
The Giant cowbird (Molothrus oryzivorus) belongs to the family Icteridae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources & credits
- Calls · Pichincha: Tandayapa ridge 3 km SSW Tandayapa, Ecuador by Niels Krabbe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Miracatu, São Paulo, Brazil by Tim Hirsch – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Pichincha: Tandayapa ridge 3 km SSW Tandayapa, Ecuador by Niels Krabbe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q1589673 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Giant cowbird – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Alastair Rae – CC BY-SA 2.0