The local bird union decided to build a nest in our flower pot. Looking for assistance in identifying the eggs or bird they came from.

nest by Jorge Jimenez, on Flickr


baby birds by Jorge Jimenez, on Flickr

Looks like one will not hatch, other two growing fast.



Thanks in advance.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: whododat,

Can't really determine the size of the eggs by the leaves because I don't know what the plant is. However, it looks to me like a Carolina Wren nest and eggs!

The photo has nothing to give size perspective, but the upper egg might be a cowbird (light blue with speckles) and the lower egg might be a robin (light blue, no speckles).

Nest is about 3 inches across and the eggs are probably 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch long. The wife did not want to fool with it too much, only to take a pic.

Here is Mama.

bird by Jorge Jimenez, on Flickr

Does not look like a Carolina Wren. Looks to me to be some sort of sparrow (or seed eater with that thick beak).

Or maybe a finch or grosbeak.

Here in the Pacific Northwest we have a little bird called a Junco (they are all over North America) ... they make little nests close the ground and have the same color and size of eggs.

Just went to the front porch where I have an old Junco nest. The nest I have is also about 3 inches across, is lined on the inside with hair (from cutting my own hair and leaving it outside for the Juncos to use) and looks like the nest you have.

House Finch

We are infested with them.

Profile looks like the house sparrow that's pooping on all my car mirrors.

I couldn't figure it out, until I watched him for about forty minutes the other day. It's spring and he's fighting off all the competition. And that includes all the little birds that he thinks live in my side view mirrors and the bottom of all my windshields. He fights like crazy for a bit, then takes a break, catches his breath and gets back at it. So all my mirrors are covered in poop.

Picture I posted last year in a different thread.
Small eggs finch , Large Cowbird.

Interesting that the finch and cowbird laid eggs in the same nest. Wonder what happens when all the eggs hatch and who feeds who.

The cowbird is a brood parasite. The finch family will raise the cowbird chick. Not very nice -- sorta like avian welfare.

Read more about it here.

quote:

Originally posted by old dino:
Interesting that the finch and cowbird laid eggs in the same nest. Wonder what happens when all the eggs hatch and who feeds who.

As mentioned, cowbirds have evolved to let other birds do their chick rearing. They lay their egg and split. When it hatches, the chick discards other eggs/chicks from the nest and the unwitting parent species raises the cowbird chick as its own. When there are multiple eggs, the cowbird egg stands out because they are always laid singly.

Thank you all.

Very educational thread. Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Shugart:
The cowbird is a brood parasite. The finch family will raise the cowbird chick. Not very nice -- sorta like avian welfare.

Read more about it here.

I had no idea, thanks for teaching me something new today. It is interesting in ways the animal kingdom mimic our own human existence ... or maybe the other way around.

Update with pic.