Sunday, August 08, 2010

SPARROWS GALORE

The two common sparrows appeared to be inseparable. Though they were about the same size as each other, one had slightly fluffier feathers. I watched their interaction for a bit. The neat one picked at bits on the pavement (probably crumbs, or maybe leftovers from a candy floss stall from the night before). The other sparrow looked on. The moment the neat one turned towards the other, its mouth opened wide and the beaked cornucopia entered. This feeding process occurred several times and when it was deemed that enough was eaten, both birds flew up to a ledge on a nearby building. 

This was obviously mum with her fledgling, possibly a late and second hatching of baby birds. We have heard much about there being a dearth of sparrows.

I have seen plenty of hedge sparrows in my garden and other varieties of small birds. 



 There was the proof in the town precinct that more sparrow life was developing. I think there is time for the young birds to strengthen up for the Winter, and if it is not a long harsh one like the last one, perhaps they will survive in number.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

we seem to be ok for sparrows down here too despite the best efforts of the local feline fraternity.

ZACL said...

Our present visiting felines don't seem to be too clever in the stalking and hunting department.

Anonymous said...

i wish i could say the same of ours, it's like a jungle out there sometimes!

mind you, i still have a soft spot for them all as i'm very much a cat person.

ZACL said...

I enjoy cats. We had two visiting, at different times that were real characters. Coincidentally they were mongrels moggies of a Persian variety. One was black and very homely, the other was white with black and very communicative. They both loved being petted. They have moved with their humans to other areas. Both these cats could stalk, hunt their prey and get them. I had the odd present of a shrew. The current batch of cats seem to have a far off instinct and play at hunting.

Flighty said...

It's always good to see sparrows, especially like that! I do see them on the plot, and hereabouts, occasionally. Flighty xx

ZACL said...

Hello Mr F,

It was unexpected to see the two sparrows -mum and babe- in the town precinct. I kept a respectful but not too distant space from the birds while I watched. Other people walked past me. The birds didn't budge till they were ready to.

keiko amano said...

ZACL,

I see reddish sparrow here. I don't know their correct name. I used to see reddish sparrow in Yokohama, too. I've never heard of anyone talk about reddish sparrows. But the famous red gate in ancient Kyoto was Suzakumon which means Red Sparrow Gate.

In my backyard, cats come over once in a while and take their nap. It's so good to see them so peaceful and minding own business. They surely take care of themselves without fuss. They belong to neighbors. But I miss the Persian looking gray and black cat who used to show up. He was friendly. I'm not a cat person, but I enjoy looking at cats. I just cannot touch them, but they come to me if I take time.

ZACL said...

Hello Keiko,

We have a hedge sparrow called a Dunnock. It tends to be plumper than the common sparrow and the feathers are a similar colour, perhaps, slightly richer in their toning. The picture with this post shows Dunnocks.

There is also a bird called a Robin, its full name is Robin Redbreast. It is about the same size as the Dunnock (hedge sparrow) and it has a notable red breasted plumage. They are very much in evidence in cooler and cold weather periods.

I have looked, however, I cannot find any reference to red sparrows here, nothing that makes any sense in ornithological terms.

Cats know what's what with humans, I believe.

Thank you for your interesting and thoughtful and enjoyable replies to my posts Keiko.

keiko amano said...

ZACL,

Thank you for the name of the birds, Dunnock. I did think they were plumer, but I thought they were well fed! I looked for benisuzume(red sparrow in Japanese) and found the entry: a tiger finch or avadavat. They are smaller than regular sparrows. It said they are from Indonesia, India, and Malay.