Shiny Cowbird

Sightings
We had surprisingly few sightings of Shiny Cowbird Molothrus bonariensis in either Trinidad or Tobago. In fact, this was the only sighting in Tobago where they are supposedly more common than in Trinidad where we had 7 sightings. Although Cowbirds are more often associated with grassland and cultivation, this particular sighting was in the Tobago Forest Reserve.

Species
Like most other cowbirds, it is a brood parasite, laying its eggs in the nests of many other bird species. The male Shiny Cowbird as photographed is all black with an iridescent purple-blue gloss. It is a bird associated with open woodland and cultivation and has an increasing population.

Status and Distribution
Shiny Cowbird is a species of least concern with a range which covers much of the West Indies, South America and is probably breeding in Florida. There is some variation in size across the range, with the race of M. b. minimus from northern South America and the West Indies being the smallest.

References
BirdLife; Wikipedia; M., Restall, R., and Hayes, F. (2015) Birds of Trinidad and Tobago, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 250.

Photograph
Taken at the forest edge the bird in shade at 1/400th second, f5.6 and ISO 800.