Listen to the Shiny cowbird
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the Shiny cowbird
The Shiny cowbird is a bird in the family Icteridae (order Passeriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults weigh around 34 g.
What does the Shiny cowbird sound like?
Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once. Songs tend to be long and patterned and are used to hold territory and attract a mate; calls are short signals for contact, alarm and flight.
The recordings here are labelled as song, clucking call, rattle call, alternate song and song in display flight. 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 shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) is a passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It breeds in most of South America except for dense forests and areas of high altitude such as mountains. Since 1900 the shiny cowbird's range has shifted northward, and it was recorded in the Caribbean islands as well as the United States, where it is found breeding in southern Florida. It is a bird associated with open habitats, including disturbed land from agriculture and deforestation.
Adults are sexually dimorphic. Males are all black with a purple-blue iridescence. The female is smaller, with dull brown plumage that is sometimes paler on the underparts. Females of the species can be distinguished from the female brown-headed cowbird by their longer, finer bills and flatter heads. The shiny cowbird's diet consists mainly of insects, other arthropods and seeds, and they have been recorded foraging for grains in cattle troughs.
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 Shiny cowbird sound like?
You can hear 6 recordings of the Shiny cowbird on this page, including its song, clucking call and rattle call. Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once.
Is the Shiny cowbird endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Shiny cowbird as “least concern”.
What family does the Shiny cowbird belong to?
The Shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) belongs to the family Icteridae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources & credits
- Song · Ezeiza, Ezeiza Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina by Gabriele Magurno – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Clucking call · Guayas: 3 km E Pacoa Beach, Ecuador by Niels Krabbe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Rattle call · Azuay: upper Yunguilla Valley, Ecuador by Niels Krabbe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Alternate song, song in display flight · Esmeraldas: 11 km WSW Same, Ecuador by Niels Krabbe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- 2-noted song/call · Guayas: 3 km E Pacoa Beach, Ecuador by Niels Krabbe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · El Oro: Reserva Buenaventura 9 km WNW Piñas, Ecuador by Niels Krabbe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q1586890 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Shiny cowbird – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Charles J. Sharp – CC BY-SA 4.0