Shiny Cow Bird Thesis

At first glance, the Shiny Cowbird http://www.care2.com/greenliving/fascinating-family-structures-in-the-animal-world.html looks like a chubbier and smaller raven with its shiny purplish-bluish glossy coat. But there's a much darker side to this "immigrant" http://www.care2.com/causes/undocumented-immigrant-are-sanctuary-cities-under-increased-scrutiny.html bird species -- it's a very attractive parasite. http://www.care2.com/causes/why-is-a-deadly-cat-parasite-attacking-arctic-belugas.html
And according to a new study published in Biodiversity Data Journal, the Shiny Cowbird is wreaking havoc on Ecuador's native -- and sometimes endangered -- bird species. http://www.care2.com/causes/ecuador-ditches-plan-to-protect-amazon-from-oil-drilling.html
Like other Cowbirds, the Shiny Cowbird is a brood parasite. That's just a fancy way of saying that it depends on other species to raise it young by leaving its eggs in another host's nest. Her chicks are taken care of by an overworked and unsuspecting babysitter while she continues Shiny Cowbird business (e.g. foraging, mating, etc.) as usual. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brood_parasite

What's the harm in
In the off chance that a host mother doesn't realize what's happened, she could end up raising chick as her own and wasting https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brood_parasite valuable time, energy and resources on someone else's chick. And there have even been examples of parasitic chicks killing their nest mates. A pretty ungrateful bunch if you ask me. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brood_parasite

Soaring to New Heights and New Lows

And these unfair dynamics are playing out in Ecuador in an alarming way. New research conducted by Dr Verónica Crespo-Pérez, a professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE), and her team shows that the Shiny Cowbird is flying to new heights in Ecuador with an "altitudinal expansion of approximately 500 m.," reports Pensoft. http://blog.pensoft.net/2016/05/05/new-immigrant-shiny-cowbirds-noted-from-a-recording-altitude-of-2800-m-in-ecuador/ And they're breeding.

The Shiny Cowbird is no stranger to Ecuador -- or South America, for that matter; It's native to the continent's lowlands. But over the past century, the Shiny Cowbird has been expanding its territory in both latitude and longitude. And it's no