Brown-headed Cowbirds in Grasslands: Their Habitats, Hosts, and Response to Management

Authors

Jill A. Shaffer, USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research CenterFollow
Christopher M. Goldade, USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Meghan F. Dinkins, USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Douglas H. Johnson, USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research CenterFollow
Lawrence D. Igl, USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research CenterFollow
Betty R. Euliss, USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Date of this Version

6-8-2003

Comments

Published in The Prairie Naturalist 35(3): September 2003. Published by the Great Plains Natural Science Society http://www.fhsu.edu/biology/pn/prairienat.htm

Abstract

The brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) is an obligate brood parasite whose numbers have increased in recent decades to the potential detriment of the species that they parasitize. Thus, most management efforts focus on discouraging brown-headed cowbird parasitism or controlling brown-headed cowbird populations. Keys to discouraging brown-headed cowbird parasitism or controlling populations of brown-headed cowbirds in the Great Plains are maintaining large expanses of grassland, eliminating foraging areas (e.g., feedlots) and perch sites, and reducing the extent of overgrazed pastures.