Brown-headed cowbird
Scientific name: Molothrus ater (Boddaert, 1783)
Overview
The brown-headed cowbird is a small, obligate brood parasitic icterid native to temperate and subtropical North America. It is a permanent resident in the southern parts of its range; northern birds migrate to the southern United States and Mexico in winter, returning to their summer habitat around March or April.
From the Wikipedia article “Brown-headed cowbird”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021.3.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Middle America; North America.
Common names
Names in other languages (9)
- Arabic
- شحرور البقر بني الرأس
- Chinese
- 褐头牛鹂
- French
- Vacher à tête brune
- German
- Braunkopf-Kuhstärling
- Japanese
- コウウチョウ
- Persian
- گاومرغ سرقهوهای
- Portuguese
- chopim-mulato, chupim-mulato, vaqueiro-de-cabeça-castanha
- Russian
- Буроголовый коровий трупиал
- Spanish
- Tordo cabecipardo, Tordo cabeza café
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q901568, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Brown-headed cowbird”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
- Range map — Cephas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026