Warbla · Library
Brown-headed Cowbird
Molothrus ater · Family Icteridae
Molothrus ater
Family Icteridae
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Icteridae
- GBIF occurrence records
- 8,440,118
- Countries and territories with records
- 20
About this species
This species has 8,440,118 occurrence records from 20 countries and territories (GBIF, 21 October 2026). Most records come from the United States (88.5%) and Canada (11.1%); together they account for 99.6% of the total. In the United States, this species accounts for 0.67% of all bird records in GBIF.
The scientific name Molothrus ater combines the genus name Molothrus with the species epithet ater. The Warbla app catalog lists 5 species of the genus Molothrus; apart from this one, those with the most GBIF records are Molothrus bonariensis, Molothrus aeneus and Molothrus oryzivorus.
The catalog has GBIF record counts for 105 species of the family Icteridae. This species ranks 3rd among them; the family’s most-recorded species is Agelaius phoeniceus. Its record count is 12.5 times the family average (677,230). The family Icteridae belongs to the order Passeriformes, which has 6,193 species in the Warbla app catalog.