Cowbird

This is a wet female brown-headed cowbird. These girls have cleverly worked out how to not have to raise their own children! Instead they lay them in other birds' nests and then swan off to enjoy themselves. This is a practice born of the fact that back in the day they used to follow bison herds across the plains and couldn't dilly dally around to raise young. It's always interesting to see a smaller songbird feeding her large strange child. Somehow, intriguingly, the young cowbirds mature and sing their own cowbird song, and mate with the appropriate mate. They're not at all confused about who they are. 

I saw at least eight of them eating my birdseed today - a mixed group of males and females.

It rained all day. Still raining. At least we didn't get snow or ice here at our house. I understand that up in the Shenandoah National Forest there is ice.