Freeloaders of the avian world May 28, 2021

Freeloaders of the avian world

Ever felt like some folks are just born jerks? Birds can relate. Take for example the uninvited speckly-white visitor to this robin"s nest: That smaller egg belongs to a baby cowbird whose mother sneakily laid it among the blue robin eggs when no one was looking. Once the baby birds all hatch, the cowbird will grow much faster and larger than its robin "siblings," soon becoming an only chick by muscling them right out of the nest. And if mama robin ejects the cowbird egg before it hatches, the cowbird mom may take notice and chuck the remaining robin eggs from the nest out of spite.

© Edward Kinsman/Science Photo Library

palette

Today in History

May 28, 2018Honoring the fallen
May 28, 2019Why’s it called a spelling ‘bee,’ anyhow?
May 28, 2020Old man s whiskers growing wild
May 28, 2022Bungle Bungle Range in Purnululu National Park, Australia
May 28, 2023Tegallalang terrace farms in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
May 28, 2024The Monastery of Roussanou, Greece
May 28, 2025World Otter Day

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jan 11, 2025Heri es-Swani in Meknes, Morocco
Sep 11, 2018Inside the Oculus
May 12, 2023Wild lupines
Apr 29, 2022Arbor Day
Dec 23, 2019A Festivus for the rest of us
Jan 13, 2022Tasiilaq, Greenland
Jul 22, 2019Let’s go mothing
Nov 20, 2018Flamingos of the Chilean desert
Jun 28, 2021A medieval celebration in the Mediterranean
Dec 18, 2018A hit ballet, long after its debut
Apr 12, 2018Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Australia
Aug 29, 2025Aerial view of Plaza Mayor, Madrid, Spain
Oct 31, 2023Halloween
Jun 23, 2019Adorable activism
Sep 10, 2025Hay bales in North Yorkshire, England
Nov 12, 2021Beavers Bend
Dec 28, 2022Maloja, Switzerland
Jul 3, 2025Rainbow River, Rainbow Springs State Park, Florida
Sep 15, 2022Hispanic Heritage Month
Dec 27, 2024Lake Bled, Slovenia
Jul 22, 2023National Hammock Day
Dec 30, 2022White Desert National Park, Egypt
Oct 19, 2024International Archaeology Day
Sep 12, 2018A cutting-edge art gallery opens in Paris
Feb 18, 2020Too awesome to be a planet
Jun 5, 2019Happy trees = Clean air
Oct 26, 2021Red fox
Jul 5, 2020There once was a lighthouse from...
Mar 31, 2025Ostuni, Apulia, Italy
Aug 21, 2020Lobster tales