On a sunny afternoon, rather late in the day, as I was walking past my neighbor's house, I heard a bird commotion. Lots of chirping ...and as I looked up high toward the vents on my neighbor's garage, in the direction of the "bird talk," I saw a large ungainly and messy nest. Out flew a pair of house sparrows. The male, easily identified by his characteristic black throat and the area around the beak, took to the air first. They have the typical multi-colored brown wing feathers and a mostly white breast, except for the less flashy female who has a dull eye stripe and an almost-yellow breast. She was there, too, only a little more reluctant to leave the nest. ...Anything to distract a potential enemy or predator, including a moment away from their nest.
No doubt these are the same house sparrows that frequent my yard in search of seeds and other food materials. I see the little birds hopping on the ground now that the squirrels have seized the bird feeders. Sometimes they stop for a drink at the bird bath.
Sparrows were an import from Europe to Brooklyn in 1850. With ease they have populated towns and cities all across the US, parts of Canada, and now are venturing into Central and South America.
No comments:
Post a Comment