Love Is in the Air

As Walker Evans and I tromped around the West Side of Buffalo on our morning walk today, we noticed an increase in bird activity; apparently, our aviary friends are tired of waiting for spring weather to arrive.
In particular, we observed two birds in a tree on Richmond Avenue apparently starting their courting ritual. The female, all brown with slight darker marks on her wings, sat on a branch, while the male, the same body shape and size but with a brown head and black and sparking dark purple plumage, sang to/at her, flew around and landed on branches near her, puffed his stomach and preened for her. Both were a bit larger than a sparrow and maybe as large as a robin but slightly less, I believe. When I got home and had finished my coffee and breakfast, I checked online and it appears that the birds I saw were brown-headed cowbirds, which are year-round residents here.
Just to make sure, I am turning to my resident nature expert, niece and wonderful nature writer and photographer (and regular blog reader) Kimberly Hosey for her opinion on this matter. Kim?