Birding/house finch nest

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Expert: - 6/1/2009


Question
We have house finches with a nest in our hanging plant. There are four blue finch eggs and one speckled egg (mocking bird?). We've been advised to remove the mocking bird egg.  Would you agree?

Answer
I doubt if it is a Mockingbird. Their eggs tend to be both splotched and mottled and they rarely lay their eggs in other birds' nests. I suspect strongly that it is a Brown-headed Cowbird egg; Brown-headed Cowbirds are "nest parasites" because they lay their eggs in other birds' (hosts) nests and let the hosts raise them at the expense of their own young. I agree that you should remove the odd egg.

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Roger Lederer

Expertise

Any and all about WILD birds - the science of ornithology. Information about birdwatching, ecology, conservation, migration, behavior, banding, rehabilitation, feeding, songs, binoculars, identification, and careers in ornithology. No questions about pet or caged birds, please.

Experience

Have a PhD and over forty years as a professional ornithologist - research, teaching, author, speaker, webmaster of Ornithology.com . Have written thirty scientific papers, three bird field guides, a textbook in ecology and two recent books entitled "Amazing Birds" and "Birds of New England". Have traveled to over 90 countries watching birds.

Education/Credentials
PhD in Zoology/Ornithology; Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences; former Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at California State University, Chico

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