- The male possesses a brown head and a black body while the females are simply a dull brown color. About 8 inches long, the cowbird has a shortened beak that is not typical of most blackbirds.
- The female will lay her eggs in the nest of another bird instead of making her own nest. When these eggs hatch, the other bird species raise the cowbird young as their own.
- Cowbird eggs will hatch quicker than most other species' eggs will, giving the young the ability to dominate the brood. This behavior makes the cowbird an undesired and invasive species in many areas.
- Birds like the red-winged blackbird, yellow warbler, chipping sparrow, red-eyed vireo and eastern towhee are among those that most often wind up raising young cowbirds.
- The cowbird originally would follow the vast bison herds of the Great Plains and gobble up insects. As Eastern forests fell and people cleared land during the 19th century, the cowbird greatly expanded its territory eastward.
