FreeLists / birdky / [birdky] Buzzy Beggars ID

[Ben Albritton <benalbritton@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks to great photo contributions and people giving me the key things to 
focus my attention on, such as looking for some red color and especially the 
shape of the bill, I have concluded that the particular birds in question that 
I've been seeing Cardinals feed are the young of cowbirds.  The bill is 
certainly longer and tapers long to a sharp point contrast to the cardinal's 
heavier wedge shaped bill.  The shape of the young bird's cranium also suggests 
cowbird to me.  Otherwise, there is nothing cardinal-ish about the young birds, 
no trace of red coloring, not even a faint wash, no crest on the head or beak.
   
  They are so funny to watch.  This morning, a pair came right on my balcony 
where I have scattered birdfeed.  The young cowbird stood right in middle of 
the very same food the male Cardinal would place in its beak, but that little 
guy would not take one for itself; it would stay by the Cardinal and buzz its 
head off and shake its wings off until the Cardinal put another something in 
its beak! 
   
  Thanks again!
  Ben Albritton
  Lexington, KY

       
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