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Unusual Parasitism by the Bronzed Cowbird ’ 814 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS GOCHFELD,M., AND J. BURGER. 1983. Age related tebirds-a comparative review. Living Bird 14: differencesin piracy in frigatebirdsfrom Laughing 113-155. Gulls. Condor 83:79-82. OSORNO,J. L., R. TORRES,AND C. MACLAS GARCIA. HARRISON,C. S. 1990. Seabirds of Hawaii, natural 1992. Kleptoparasitic behavior of the Magnifi- history and conservation.Cornell Univ. Press,Ith- cent Frigatebird: sex bias and success.Condor 94: aca, NY. 692-698. HARRISON,C. S., T. S. HIDA, AND M. P. SEKI. 1983. VERNER,JARED. 1965. Flight behavior of the Red- Hawaiian seabirdfeeding ecology. Wildl. Monogr. footed Booby. Wilson Bull. 77~229-234. 85. VICKERY,J. A., AND M. DE L. BRCKKE. 1994. The NELSON,J. B. 1968. Galapagos, islands of birds. kleptoparasitic interactions between Great Friga- Longmans, London. tebirds and Masked Boobieson Henderson Island, NELSON, J. B. 1975. The breeding biology of friga- South Pacific. Condor 96:331-340. The Condor973814-815 0 The CooperChnithologkal Society 1995 UNUSUAL PARASITISM BY THE BRONZED COWBIRD ’ ETHAND. CLOTFELTER Department of Zoology, Universityof Wisconsin,Madison, WI 53706 TIMOTHYBRUSH Department of Biology Universityof Texas, Pan American, Edinburg, TX 78539 Key words: Molothrus aeneus; brood parasitism; Although the Yellow-billed Cuckoo is common in Coccyzusamericanus; Tyrannus verticalis; Tyrannus the Lower Rio Grande Valley, there are no records of couch& Cyanocorax yncas. brood parasitism of this speciesby Bronzed Cowbirds (Friedmann 1929.1963: Friedmann et al. 1977:Carter We report four unusualincidences of brood parasitism 1986). This lack of records is surprisingbecause Yel- by the Bronzed Cowbird (Molothrus aeneu.$in south low-billed Cuckoos are known to be occasionalhosts Texas during July 1993 and June-July 1994: (1) the of Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater; Fried- first reported use of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coc- mann 197l), and becausethey are relatively large-bod- cyzus americanus)as a host; (2) the first reported use ied (28-33 cm long) and insectivorous,two character- ofthe Western Kinabird (Tvrannus verticalis)as a host: istics common to many Bronzed Cowbird hosts.There (3) the second rep&ted raising of Bronzed’Cowbirds is no evidence that Yellow-billed Cuckoos reject to fledging age by a Couch’s Kingbird (Tyrannus Bronzed Cowbird eggs,either by ejection or by deser- couchiz],a known rejector of cowbird eggs;and (4) a tion (Carter 1986; Clotfelter, unpubl. data). On 7 June record number of parasitic eggslaid in a single host’s 1994, we found a cuckoonest in the SANWR, one that nest and still incubatedby the host, in this casea Green previouslycontained three cuckooeggs, with one cuck- Jay (Cyanocoraxyncas). oo egg and one Bronzed Cowbird egg. Both eggswere The Bronzed Cowbird is a generalistbrood parasite, punctured, presumablyby a Bronzed Cowbird. This is known to parasitize nearly 80 speciesof birds (Fried- consistentwith Carter’s (1986) observationthat Bronzed mann 1929,1963,1971; Friedmannetal. 1977;Carter Cowbirds puncture both host eggsand other cowbird 1984). Bronzed Cowbirds range from Colombia into eggs.Brown-headed Cowbirds are not known to punc- the extreme southwesternUnited States,and are com- ture host eggs(Scott et al. 1992). On 12 July 1994, we mon in the Lower Rio Grande Valley region of south- found another nest in the SANWR containingonly one em Texas, particularlyin the SantaAna National Wild- punctured cuckoo egg, also presumably punctured by life Refuge (SANWR). As part of a larger study of a Bronzed Cowbird. Bronzed Cowbird socialbehavior (E.D.C.) and a breed- Bronzed Cowbirds have approximately 11-day nest- ing bird study (T.B.) in the SANWR, we examined ling periods, typical for a brood parasite (Payne 1977, host nests whenever they were found and made ob- Carter 1986). Yellow-billed Cuckoos, however, have servations of parental behavior. acceleratednestling periods for their body size (9-l 1 days; Nolan and Thompson 1975, Potter 1980). As most brood parasitesselect hosts with developmental periods longer than their own (Payne 1977), it is un- I Received 13 September 1994. Accepted 1 February likely that Bronzed Cowbirds can successfullyfledge 1995. from cuckoo nests. It is possible that parasitism and SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 815 egg-puncturingby Bronzed Cowbirds of Yellow-billed in our understandingof the parasitic behavior of the Cuckoo nestsincreases the frequencyof nest abandon- Bronzed Cowbird. With future study, additional host ment, contributing to the wide decline of this species. specieswill undoubtedly be discovered, and relation- On 9 July 1993, two Western Kingbirds were ob- ships with known host specieswill become better un- served feeding two Bronzed Cowbird fledglings in a derstood. Understanding the processof host selection residential area in Edinburg, Hidalgo County, Texas and host/parasite relationships will become increas- (approximately 50 km north of the SANWR). Al- ingly important asBronzed Cowbirds expand their range though Western Kingbirds are rare hostsof the Brown- in the United States and encounter naive host species headed Cowbird, no records exist of parasitism by (Robbins and Easterla 1981). Bronzed Cowbirds (Friedmann and Kiff 1985). Like cowbirds. the Western Kingbird has adiusted well to We would like to thank L. Narcisse for permission human disturbanceand has undergonea dramatic range to conduct our research in the SANWR, E. Hopson expansionin the westernand midwestem United States and the SANWR staff for logistical support, and K. (MacKenzie and Sealy 1981). This speciesmost likely Yasukawa for commenting on the manuscript. E.D.C. has been overlooked as a Bronzed Cowbird host be- was funded by the Milwaukee Zoological Society, Sig- causeit is uncommon in the Lower Rio Grande Valley ma Xi, and the JeffersonDavis Fund of the University (Oberholser 1974), where the majority of Bronzed of Wisconsin Department of Zoology. Cowbird researchhas been conducted(e.g., Carter 1984, LITERATURE CITED 1986). Like many other Bronzed Cowbird hosts, these kingbirds are also relatively large (20 cm long) and ALVAREZ,H. 1975. The social system of the Green insectivorous. It is not known if Western Kingbirds Jay in Colombia. Living Bird 14:544. eject cowbird eggs,as do two of their congeners,the CARTER,M. D. 1984. The social organization and EasternKingbird (Tyrunnus tyrannus; Rothstein 1975) parasiticbehavior of the BronzedCowbird in south and the Couch’s Kingbird (Tyrannus couchii; Carter Texas. Ph.D.diss., Univ. of Minnesota, Minne- 1986). apolis. On 17 July 1994, a Couch’s Kingbird was observed CARTER,M. D. 1986. The parasitic behavior of the feedingtwo BronzedCowbird fledglingsin the SANWR. Bronzed Cowbird in south Texas. Condor 88: 1 l- A few previous recordsexist of Bronzed Cowbird eggs 25. laid in nests of this species(Friedmann 1963, Carter FRIEDMANN,H. 1929. The cowbirds: a study in the 1986), and on one occasiona cowbird was successfully biology of socialparasitism. C.C. Thomas,-Spring- fledged (Carter 1986). These observations are signili- field, IL. cant because they indicate that rejector species like FRIEDMANN,H. 1963. Host relations of the parasitic Couch’s Kingbird mav be oarasitized and even suffer cowbirds. U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 233. reduced reproductive-success.The fact that Bronzed FRIEDMANN.H. 1971. Further information on the Cowbirds can develop in Couch’s Kingbirds’ nestssug- host relations of the parasitic cowbirds. Auk 88: geststhat they may have been a more commonly used 239-255. host in the past, but that due to strongselective pressure FRIEDMANN,H., AND L. F. K~FF. 1985. The parasitic they have evolved anti-parasite strategiessuch as egg cowbirds and their hosts.Proc. West. Found. Vert. discrimination and ejection. Zool. 2~225-304. In June 1994, we found two Green Jay nests con- FRIEDMANN, H., L. F. K~FF,AND S. I. ROTHSTEIN.1977. taining unusually large numbers of Bronzed Cowbird A further contribution to the knowledgeofthe host eggs.The first nest (found 11 June) contained 11 cow- relationshipsof the parasitic cowbirds. Smithson. bird and two Green Jay eggs.The female Green Jay Contrib. Zool. No. 235. incubated the nest long past the normal incubation MACKENZIE,D. I., AND S. G. SEALY. 1981. Nest site time (17-18 davs: Alvarez 1975) and abandoned the selectionin Easternand Western Kingbirds: a mul- nest on 10 July with all eggsstill unhatched.The second tivariate approach. Condor 83:3 1O-32 1. nest (found 20 June) contained nine Bronzed Cowbird NOLAN. V.. JR., AND C. F. THOMPSON. 1975. The eggsand two Green Jay eggs.This female incubated occurrence‘and significanceof anomolous repro- n&nally, and three nestling cowbirds hatched before ductive activities in two North American non- it was depredated on 10 July. The largest recorded parasitic cuckoos.Ibis 117:496-503. number of Bronzed Cowbird eggs laid in a “dump” OBERHOI~ER,H. C. 1974. The bird life of Texas. nest (not incubated by the host) is 14, and the largest Univ. of Texas Press, Austin. number laid in an active nest is 10 (Friedmann et al. PAYNE,R. B. 1977. The ecologyof brood parasitism. 1977, Carter 1984). Neither of these reported nests Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 8:1-28. hatched cowbird nestlings.Carter (1986) reported that POTTER,E. F. 1980. Notes on nesting Yellow-billed active nestsfrom six major host species(including Green Cuckoos.J. Field. Omithol. 5 1:17-29. Jays) averaged 2.2 ? 1.9 Bronzed Cowbird eaas- -ner ROBBINS,M. B., AND D. A. EASTERLA.198 1. Range nest’(n = 98 nests, range = O-7 eggs).Thus, the first expansion of the Bronzed Cowbird with the first Green Jay nest is significant in that it representsthe Missouri Record. Condor 83:270-272. largest number of parasitic eggsreported in an active ROTHSTEIN,S. I. 1975. An experimental and teleon- nest for any of the five parasitic cowbirds (generaMol- omit investigation of avian brood parasitism. othrus, Scaphidura). The second nest represents the Condor 77:250-27 1. largest clutch of cowbird eggsknown to have hatched SCOTT,D. M., P.
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