Brown-headed Cowbird in April

April is when spring migration hits its stride. Waves of migrants move north on warm southerly winds, wintering birds leave for good, and early nesters are already on eggs in the South. Every week brings species that weren't there the week before.

For the Brown-headed Cowbird specifically, April is a spring month inside the nesting season — one of the most active and demanding periods of this bird's year. Across the 58 states and provinces where cowbirds occur, what the bird is doing this month depends heavily on latitude — the details below break it down by band.

Southern states

absent

Mid-latitudes

year-round resident

Northern states & Canada

absent

In April, cowbirds are absent in the South, year-round resident across the mid-latitudes, and absent in the northern states and Canada. That north–south split is the defining feature of this month: where you live changes which version of this bird you're looking at.

April is inside the Brown-headed Cowbird nesting season — about a month earlier in the South and a month later in the North. Nest: builds no nest — lays eggs in the nests of other species. Clutch up to 36 eggs per season, one per host nest, incubation 10–12 days, —.

In the South the season is already underway, while northern birds are still settling territories — a pair in Florida or Texas may be on eggs weeks before a pair in Minnesota or Ontario has even chosen a nest site. During the nesting months, adults switch to protein-rich foods for their young, become more secretive around the nest site, and often visit feeders in quick, purposeful trips rather than lingering.

• Grasshoppers, beetles and grass seeds

A brood parasite — it lays eggs in other birds' nests. Feeding less millet and avoiding platform scatter reduces cowbird crowds.

Migrants arriving after long flights are hungry — feeders can be genuine lifelines during cold, wet spells that suppress insects.

Full Brown-headed Cowbird diet guide → · Best feeder for cowbirds →

In April, the best watching is around food rather than the nest — adults make repeated foraging trips and are most visible at dawn and dusk. Give nesting birds space: if a bird is carrying food or scolding you persistently, you're close to a nest and should back off.

The state guides below show exactly where in your region cowbirds are expected this month and which native plants hold them in a yard.

AlabamaAlbertaArizonaArkansasBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineManitoba