16th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Song Sparrow Feeding Baby Brown-headed Cowbird

An unfortunate yet incredibly interesting sight to see. Brown-headed cowbirds often leave their eggs in another smaller birds' nest leaving the host bird to take care of it. In this case a sparrow's nest. The brown-cowbird grows at a much faster rate, therefore kicking the other young out of the nest which kills them. The song sparrow is now forced to take care of the cowbird instead.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 05.2018
Date Uploaded: 11.2018
Photo Location: Marietta, Georgia, United States of America
Camera: NIKON D3400
Copyright: © Anagha Ramakrishnan