Do birds feed other birds? I saw a male Cardinal feeding a bird the same size as him. ?

Question

The other bird looked Juvenille, but it was not a Juvenille cardinal or a female cardinal. I've never seen any behavior like that before in my back yard. He was feeding him like he was his chick, but he looked big enough to be on his own.

Answer 1

I have seen males feeding female Cardinals and both males and females feeding their young. Maybe the Cardinal thought it was his baby and he was feeding it.

Answer 2

Cuckoo birds and cowbirds both parasitize other birds' nests.  The female cuckoo will wait until the hen leaves the nest and will quickly lay an egg in the host's nest.  The cuckoo's egg will mimic the host bird's eggs.  When the parasite's egg hatches it actually pushes the other eggs and babies out of the nest so the host parents feed the baby until it is mature even though the cuckoo baby is much bigger than the adult host birds!

Answer 3

The male Cardinal is probably feeding a cowbird baby.  Cowbirds are nest parasites and will lay their eggs in other birds nest for the host parent to raise.  Yes, cuckoos do this as well..but the cuckoos found in the US rarely lay in other birds nests (although possible).  Cuckoos species found in other parts of the world are commonly nest parasites.  Cowbirds are very widespread in the US (unlike Cuckoos) and are a very common nest parasite....therefore I am sure it is a Brown-headed Cowbird.

Answer 4

Some mother birds lay their eggs in other birds nests and they are then raised by the host birds.  When they get larger, the birds still feed them like they would have their babies which probably starved due to the other baby bird intruding in the nest.  Birds are dedicated, but some aren't very bright.