Bird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Molothrus ater

Lives in Alabama all year and nests here. Found in all 67 counties, across 12 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 12

Male Brown-headed Cowbird, whole bird — **Male**. (c) cello caruso-turiello, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 656878277. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 67 counties
Habitats: 12
Habitat models: Year-round

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Alabama 12

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 12

Year-roundDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other); Harvested Forest - Shrub RegenerationNamed place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Year-roundRidge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland; Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and BarrensLimestone cedar glade. Shown: Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Catoosa County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP, Catoosa County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Year-roundCumberland Sandstone Glade and BarrensSolution pits on granite. Shown: Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, DeKalb County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Solution pits, Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, DeKalb County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and WoodlandLimestone prairie. Shown: Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Grand Prairie, Coosa Valley Prairies, Floyd County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Year-round

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood; Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

Year-roundEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

Year-roundSouth-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

Year-roundDeveloped, Open Space; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

Year-roundCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

Year-roundDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

Other habitats in its models (40)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama.

Developed, Low Intensity Year-round.
Orchards Vineyards and Other High Structure Agriculture Year-round.
South Florida Hardwood Hammock Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Year-round.
Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Year-round.
Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Year-round.
Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Year-round.
North-Central Oak Barrens Year-round.
Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Year-round.
Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Year-round.
Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Year-round.
Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Year-round.
Central Mixedgrass Prairie Year-round.
Florida Dry Prairie Year-round.
Recently Logged Areas Year-round.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Year-round.
Recently Burned Year-round.
Recently Burned Forest Year-round.
Recently Burned Grassland Year-round.
Recently Burned Shrubland Year-round.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Year-round.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Year-round.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Year-round.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Year-round.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Year-round.
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Year-round.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round.
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Year-round.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
Red River Large Floodplain Forest Year-round.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Year-round.
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Year-round.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Year-round.