Bird Host Preference--Report from ESA (2)

Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003
From: Mary Ellen Clinton <metanager@yahoo.com>

Hi. I was intrigued by the posting that brown headed
cowbirds are the preferred food source for the
mosquitoes that carry WNV. I would be interested to
know how susceptible these birds are to the virus, how
high their mortality is due to the disease? Since
brown headed cowbirds are a major cause of the decline
of warblers and other migratory songbirds in the
eastern United States, might we hope for a slightly
positive side effect of WNV in reducing the population
of these nest parasites? Mary Ellen, Elizabeth, IN

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