Brown Headed Cowbird

Molothrus ater (Boddaert 1783)

Phil Myers, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor cc-by-nc-sa-3.0

Molothrus ater (Brown Headed Cowbird) is a species of birds in the family New World blackbirds. They are native to The Nearctic and North America. They are diurnal herbivores. They have parental care (female provides care). They rely on flight to move around.

URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q737742
Definition: one of the eight terrestrial ecozones constituting the Earth's land surface
Attribution: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ecozone_Nearctic.svg

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URI: http://www.geonames.org/6255149

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URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q59099
Definition: animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material

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URI: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q906470
Definition: animal behavior characterized by activity during the day, with a period of inactivity at night.

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URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/parentalCareFemale
Definition: the female feeds and nurtures offspring
Attribution: Richard M. Sibly, Christopher C. Witt, Natalie A. Wright, Chris Venditti, Walter Jetz, and James H. Brown. 2012. Energetics, lifestyle, and reproduction in birds. PNAS 109(27):10937-10941, doi:10.1073/pnas.1206512109

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URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/NBO_0000367
Definition: self-propelled movement of an organism from one location to another through the air, usually by means of active wing movement

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EOL has data for 48 attributes, including:

Body symmetry
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/body_symmetry
- Definition: overall repetitive or reflective pattern in the body of one individual of this taxon. eg: bilateral symmetry, rotational symmetry, radial symmetry
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bilaterally symmetric
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
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body shape
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/BodyShape
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bilaterally symmetric
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
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diet includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Diet
- Definition: Information about the items eaten by this organism.
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mollusks
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25326
- Definition: phylum of invertebrate animals
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geographic distribution includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Present
- Definition: This organism is known to be present in this location or region. Not exclusive; other regions may also be reported.
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United States
- URI: http://www.marineregions.org/mrgid/united_states
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initial mortality rate
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/InitialMortalityRate
- Definition: The initial mortality rate (IMR) represents the mortality rate independently of the ageing process. Though there are different methods, the IMR is typically estimated from the mortality rate prior to its exponential increase with age, which can be obtained from the mortality curve (by looking at the baseline mortality prior to its exponential increase) or, for mice, by using t = 0.25 in the Gompertz equation.
- Attribution: From senescence.info. Human Ageing Genomic Resources (HAGR). Estimating the Rate of Ageing. http://genomics.senescence.info/software/demographic.html
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0.45 /year
invasive in
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/InvasiveRange
- Definition: Information about the jurisdictions where the taxon is considered to be an invasive organism due to its negative impact on human welfare or ecosystems.
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United States
- URI: http://www.geonames.org/6252001
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litters per year
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/LittersPerYear
- Definition: Number of litters per female per year
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1 /year
mating system
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/MatingSystem
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promiscuous
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ECOCORE_00000067
- Definition: A member of one sex mates with any member of the opposite sex
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native range includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/NativeRange
- Definition: Lists jurisdictions in which a given organism is a member of the undisturbed fauna or flora.
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The Nearctic
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q737742
- Definition: one of the eight terrestrial ecozones constituting the Earth's land surface
- Attribution: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ecozone_Nearctic.svg
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prenatal development duration
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/PrenatalDevelopmentDuration
- Definition: The duration of the development from fertilized, deposited or implanted egg to hatching/birth. Corresponds to egg incubation duration in oviparous animals and to gestation period duration in viviparous animals.
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11 days
social system
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/SocialSystem
- Definition: Description of the relationships among individuals within a population of organisms, including reproductive relationships (mating system), relationships within each sex, adult – young interactions, helpers and cooperation (group living).
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group living
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/socialGroupLiving
- Definition: where individuals of the same species (conspecifics), maintain spatial proximity with one another over time with mechanisms of social attraction
- Attribution: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_living
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trophic guild
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/TrophicGuild
- Definition: A group of species that exploit the same food resources, and/or use the same feeding or foraging methods. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild_(ecology)
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parasite
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q12806437
- Definition: organism adapted to living on or in another organism and causing harm to its host
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Known occurrences, collected specimens and observations of Brown-headed Cowbird. View this species on GBIF

Phil Myers, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor cc-by-nc-sa-3.0

Brown-headed Cowbird includes 3 children: