Brown Headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater. Widespread and common throughout North America, some going to the interior west for breeding and parts of Mexico and Florida for winter. Found in rural ecosystems and semi-open countryside. Diet consists of seeds and insects. This species is a nest parasite, laying its eggs in other birds’ nests to be raised instead, often forcing the parents to spend more effort towards the cowbird chick than their own young. Cowbird eggs are whitish with brown spotting heavier towards the wider end. This species is sexually dimorphic with the males being solid black and a brown head, the females being light brown with some streaking.