Specimen image via iDigBio · CC0
Molothrus
Sign in to saveAlso known as buffalo bird, cowbird
Cowbirds are birds belonging to the genus Molothrus in the family Icteridae. They are of New World origin, but some species not native to North America are invasive there, and are obligate brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species.
In the Vinony graph
Within Vinony's link graph, Molothrus is referenced by 475 other articles, and connects out to bird, Emberiza and Fringilla.
Vinony files it under Bird genera, Birds of North America and Brood parasites.
Its subject is documented across 32 Wikipedia language editions.
Species
GENUS
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassAves
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilyIcteridae
via GBIF
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 221
- With media
- 7
- Family
- Icteridae
- Collections
- ROM, LSUMZ, USNM, COA, UCM, UCLA
- Recorded in
- Peru, United States, Colombia, Nicaragua, Argentina, Mexico
Wikidata facts
Show 6 more facts
- taxon common name
- Воловьи птицы
- taxon name
- Molothrus
- taxon rank
- genus
- Commons category
- Molothrus
- topic's main category
- Category:Molothrus
- Commons gallery
- Molothrus
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~2 min read
Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Species
- Behavior
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Cowbirds are birds belonging to the genus Molothrus in the family Icteridae. They are of New World origin, but some species not native to North America are invasive there, and are obligate brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species.
The genus was introduced by English naturalist William Swainson in 1832 with the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) as the type species. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek , meaning "struggle" or "battle", with , meaning "to sire" or "to impregnate". The English name "cowbird", first recorded in 1839, refers to this species often being seen near cattle.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Molothrus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.