What Type Of Bird Is This?

[PoultryPower]

One day, while picking lemons from my (you guessed it) lemon tree, I found a bird's nest. I figured the bird's nest must have been from last year, but just in case, I grabbed a chair and took a peek inside the nest. This is what I found:



Is it normal for the eggs to look so different from each other? It looks like 2 different types of bird laid eggs in the same nest.

This is what we found yesterday in the nest:



It looks like only the smaller, grey eggs have hatched so far.

The parents do a good job of keeping a close eye on the nest. I've never been able to see them in the nest caring for their young, but they're always around. I've haven't gotten a good look at the one I'm assuming is the male, but here's the one I'm thinking might be the female:



Does anyone know what type of bird they might be? I think the male has a brighter red chest. I can't be sure though, because as I said, I've never gotten a good look at him. He stays up in the top of the trees and calls to his mate.

I'm really hoping these guys make it. We haven't had any successful raisings in our backyard (that we're aware of) in quite a while. The Blue Jays always seem to get them before they can start flying.

Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place, I wasn't sure where to put it.

 

[TXchickmum]

-kind of resembles a house finch. Our house finches return each year to the same nest (in an outdoor lantern right outside the back door). -male has a red chest. -female is brown/tan. They sing a lovely song. The eggs are small, blue/gray, and speckled.

 

[PoultryPower]

They do look similar (I looked them up), but this bird is closer to the size of a Robin.
Only the male's chest appears to be red, whereas the house finch's face is also red.
We have house finches around here too, they're beautiful little birds.

 

[TXchickmum]

-hope these sweet little ones thrive and the jays stay away. -cute birds, but haven't any clue what they might be. -really nice pics, too.

 

[hollyclyff]

I think you may have cowbird hatchlings right now. Look them up. They lay their eggs in the nests of other birds and let the other birds raise their young. That would explain the difference in appearance and incubation time.

 

[Bunnylady]

Brown-headed Cowbird​

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Cowbirds are a generalist species that can breed in a wide range of habitats, including farmland, forest edge, and suburban areas.​

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Cowbirds do not build their own nests. Instead, they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.​

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Cowbird eggs can come in a variety of colors. They can be white, blue, or green and most will have some amount of speckling.​

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Cowbird chicks are typically larger than the chicks of the host species. This triggers the adults to feed the cowbird chick more, thus allowing the chick to grow faster.​

I suspect that the larger eggs may be those of a cowbird. If they are, they will out-compete the chicks of the parent birds, and the first hatched young will likely die of starvation.

 

[Sonia]

We have two baby starlings (out of four) that were (we believe) pushed out of their nest by cowbird hatchlings.

 

[PoultryPower]

Wow, thank you all for the great information, it's very interesting.
Is there anything I can do? Should I collect the suspected Cowbird eggs and throw them away? Or should I let nature run its course?
I live in Northern California, if that helps anyone with the identification of these birds.

 

[Windrider]

Is your nesting pair California Towhees? They are the only bird I know of that are that big, mostly grey, with buff throat and under the tail. In the pic, the female look like she might have a really long tail, like a Towhee.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CaliforniaTowhee.jpg

There are definitely cowbird eggs in that nest. Cowbird eggs require a shorter incubation period and will usually hatch first (even if their eggs are smaller) to get a head start on their hosts' chicks. If the pair are Towhees, then it is the unhatched eggs which are theirs - they have sparsely speckled eggs. Cowbird eggs are usually heavily speckled.

Below is the law regarding removal of Cowbird eggs, but a great many bird lovers will remove Cowbird eggs anyway. They are a bird that is greatly expanding its range in recent times due to deforestation and its brood parasitism has a big negative impact on some endangered species.

Because cowbirds are native to the U.S., they are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and in most instances it is unlawful to use lethal control without a permit, including the removal of their eggs from a nest. However, unpermitted control of cowbirds is occasionally permissible under special circumstances outlined in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Additionally, in some states, such as Michigan and Texas, permits can be obtained to trap cowbirds to protect endangered species like Kirtland’s Warbler, Golden-cheeked Warbler, and Black-capped Vireo. Please check with your state’s wildlife management agency for local regulations.