A medium-sized American bird that often travels with cattle herds and eats insects disturbed by grazing; females lay eggs in other birds' nests instead of building their own.
From 'cow' (Old English 'cu') plus 'bird' (Old English 'brid'). Named for their association with grazing cattle and the insects they attract.
Cowbirds are ecological outlaws—they're brood parasites that trick other birds into raising their chicks, and they've actually diversified into hundreds of host species as they've spread across North America!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.