Four male Brown-head Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) waiting on Holly branches before dropping to the ground to feed. A member of the Blackbird family, it is the only parasitic bird residing in the state of Oklahoma. Like the European Cuckoo, it lays it eggs in the nests of other birds, leaving the incubation and raising of their off-springs to them, often to the exclusion of those bird's own young. It's name come from it feeding on flying insects attracted to cattle. The female cowbird is a dull brown in color.