Feeding the Kids
Mother house sparrow feeding her two babies.
I was alerted by the loud and desperate cheeping that there was a feeding event about to happen. This female hosue sparrow was being hounded by her two children and hopped from the feeder to this spot on the branch. I can’t tell you how much I wanted to get this photo without the bird feeder in it–and a little clearer–but I’m glad I got this photo. Then she left to find other food and the two babies, as big as her, stayed exactly where she told them to stay while she was away.
The two baby sparrows wait for their mother to return.
“Will you feed me?”
“Will you feed me?”
. . . . . . .
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Why They Call Them “Star”lings
All Covered with Stars
Because they are covered all over with stars! Don’t fall for that.
They really look like polka-dots. These birds of The Birds fame are probably one of the least popular birds in America aside from pigeons, partly because they are very social birds and tend to gather in huge flocks, landing all together in one place and squabbling and eating everything and leaving their droppings.
Up close they have strangely intense faces without the wide-set clear round eyes we are accustomed to on most songbirds, just beady dots in the midst of all those other polka dots, and their whole face seems to be pulled to a point by someone tugging on their long, thin beak.
But their feathers are beautiful, colorful with multiple patterns of dots, tail and wing feathers edged in white.
Here a European Starling plots an entry to the feeder.
Today 