Bad Parenting

The Brown Headed Cowbird - a perfect example of a bad parent! I can understand not being able to raise a child and hoping to give him/her a better life, but the deceitfulness of the cowbird goes way beyond giving their baby up for adoption. The female only lays one egg at a time. She and her mate go looking for a bird nest that already has eggs in it. They usually choose nests of smaller birds(nuthatches,chickadees, bluebirds) so that Cowbird Jr is assured to get fed well, as they hatch earlier and are much bigger and demanding. They remove one of the eggs and the female Cowbird lays her egg in the nest. Sometimes they will eat the host bird's egg or just drop it on the ground. Then they fly away to do this all over again, 11-20 times in a season! As I watch the Brown Headed Cowbirds from my deck, I wonder why God created them this way. Why don't they just build their own nests and raise their young? I would say they must be the laziest birds I've ever heard of. Maybe God wants those of us that are parents not to be lazy in raising our children. There are lots of things that compete for our time while our children are growing up. Maybe the Cowbird can remind us to strive to be better parents. Keep an eye on your nest and don't be a Cowbird!

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD..  Psalm 127:3

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