This briefing in on the weird brown spotted egg in the nest from the resident family biologist:
"The other larger egg may belong to a brown headed cowbird. They're famous for being nest paraisites... ie. they lay their eggs in the nest of other birds which allows the mother of the nest to take the hatchling on as it's own. Generally, cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of smaller songbirds so that when their single egg hatches it will be the largest in the brood stealing most of the food from the clutch. In some cases the baby dominates the food supply to such a degree that the other chicks will die. There's a few other species that also are nest parasites, but my guess is probably correct."
Such lazy birds that pawn off their offspring to others to raise up.
"The other larger egg may belong to a brown headed cowbird. They're famous for being nest paraisites... ie. they lay their eggs in the nest of other birds which allows the mother of the nest to take the hatchling on as it's own. Generally, cowbirds lay their eggs in the nests of smaller songbirds so that when their single egg hatches it will be the largest in the brood stealing most of the food from the clutch. In some cases the baby dominates the food supply to such a degree that the other chicks will die. There's a few other species that also are nest parasites, but my guess is probably correct."
Such lazy birds that pawn off their offspring to others to raise up.
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