Bird Album
Giant Cowbird
Molothrus oryzivorus (Gmelin, JF, 1788)
29 cmLength182 gWeight
The giant cowbird (Molothrus oryzivorus) is a large passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae.
Most records: Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama
Where and when it's recorded
Most records: Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama
Giant Cowbird has been recorded at 659 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 19 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Poconé – Pousada PiuvalBrazil1,443 records
- Ciudad Neily rice fields south of HospitalCosta Rica780 records
- Aquidauana – Pousada AguapéBrazil702 records
More places
- Iwokrama River LodgeGuyana574 records
- Pantanal – Pousada Rio ClaroBrazil559 records
- Pantanal – Porto JofreBrazil500 records
- Poconé – SouthWild PantanalBrazil475 records
- Paraíso Birding ParadisePanama434 records
- Poconé – Rio Pixaim e arredoresBrazil417 records
- PN Iguazú – Área CataratasArgentina416 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The giant cowbird (Molothrus oryzivorus) is a large passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It breeds from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina, and on Trinidad and Tobago. It may have relatively recently colonised the latter island.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Giant Cowbird?
The Giant Cowbird is about 29 cm long and weighs around 182 g.
Where does the Giant Cowbird live?
Its breeding range: Middle America, South America: eastern Mexico through northern South America. It is most often recorded in Brazil, Costa Rica and Panama.
Is the Giant Cowbird endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Giant Cowbird as Least Concern.
What does the Giant Cowbird eat?
Main food: Omnivore.
What family is the Giant Cowbird in?
It belongs to the family Oropendolas, New World Orioles, Blackbirds (Icteridae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).
At a glance
- Length
- 29 cm
- Weight
- 182 g
- Habitat
- Forest
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 174 mm
- Tail
- 131 mm
- Bill
- 36 mm
- Tarsus
- 42 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Middle America, South America: eastern Mexico through northern South America
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Passerines Passeriformes
- Family
- Oropendolas, New World Orioles, Blackbirds Icteridae
- Genus
- Molothrus
Other birds in the genus Molothrus
Screaming CowbirdMolothrus rufoaxillaris
Shiny CowbirdMolothrus bonariensis
Bronzed CowbirdMolothrus aeneus
Bronze-brown CowbirdMolothrus armenti
Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
Yellow-headed BlackbirdXanthocephalus xanthocephalus
BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorus
Western MeadowlarkSturnella neglecta
Eastern MeadowlarkSturnella magna
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from reference photos. ↗
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