Bird Guide

Giant Cowbird vs Screaming Cowbird

Giant Cowbird (Molothrus oryzivorus)

Giant Cowbird

Molothrus oryzivorus

Medium182 gForest

The male giant cowbird is 34 cm (13 in) long, weighs 174–242 g (6.1–8.5 oz) and is iridescent black, with a long tail, long bill, small head, and a neck ruff which is expanded in display. The female is smaller, averaging 29 cm (11 in) in length and weighing 144–167 g (5.1–5.9 oz). The female is less iridescent than the male, and the absence of the neck ruff makes her look less small-headed. Juvenile males are similar to the adult male, but browner, and with a pale, not black, bill.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Giant Cowbird
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Pichincha: Tandayapa ridge 3 km SSW Tandayapa, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: gailhampshire from Cradley, Malvern, U.K · CC BY 2.0
Screaming Cowbird (Molothrus rufoaxillaris)

Screaming Cowbird

Molothrus rufoaxillaris

Small48 gUrban

The screaming cowbird has mildly iridescent black plumage; the lesser under-wing coverts are rufous. The female is slightly duller in colour than the male. The legs are black and the iris is reddish brown. Adult body length is 18–21 cm and mean adult weight is 58 g for males and 48 g for females. The call of the screaming cowbird was first described as "impetuous screaming notes"; however, a more useful description for field identification is noisy, explosive and piercing with rasp-like calls also produced. Screaming cowbirds are mostly seen in pairs or small flocks.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Screaming Cowbird
Recorded by Gabriele Magurno · Song · Ezeiza, Ezeiza Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Irisfz · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Giant Cowbird and Screaming Cowbird.