Re: [SBB] So... what is this? [Beating a Really Really Dead Horse]

[Gary Meyer <[[email protected]]>]

For those of you who might not be aware, a House Sparrow is not a  
sparrow at all, it is a Weaver Finch.  So if you think this bird has  
a finch like bill, then you'd be right, although it doesn't have a  
Goldfinch like bill, which is more triangular, it has a Weaver Finch  
like bill.

Also, as Bill tried to point out, there are 2 species of birds in the  
United States that are Parasitic Nesters.  Both species prefer to NOT  
build their own nests.  One will lay an egg in someone else's nest,  
and then abandon the egg to be raised by the mother of the nest.   
This species is the Brown Headed Cowbird.  The other parasitic nester  
in the U.S. is the House Sparrow, who prefers to not build their own  
nest, but kick someone out of their nest, and take over the nest.   
The House Sparrow will often remove the eggs of the previous bird (or  
just knock them out of the nest).  So if you see smashed eggs at the  
bottom of a tree, and look up and see a nest above you, I'd lay  
pretty good odds that the bird that knocked the egg(s) out was either  
a Brown Headed Cowbird or a House Sparrow (or more aptly named the  
American Weaver)

To those of you who don't think that there are trees out there that  
couldn't produce that much pollen, please go look at the trees at  
Apple Computer's Corporate Headquarters at 1 Infinite Loop.  The  
trees in between the road and the buildings produce fairly large seed  
pods that produce massive amounts of yellow pollen.  Just look at the  
side walks, you'll see large numbers of seed pods that produce very  
large amounts of yellow pollen.  And since the yellow color is  
concentrated around the face and neck area, it is highly likely that  
this bird likes the seed pods in this type of tree.  (Sorry I'm not a  
botanist, I don't know the type of tree that it really is.)  The  
color shift in the photo also misleads you into thinking that this  
bird is more yellow than it probably really is.  Also look at the  
various pictures and you'll see the side of the face pattern of a  
female House Sparrow.  This bird is most likely a female House Sparrow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gary Meyer
[[email protected]]



On May 6, 2006, at 7:29 AM, Ruth Troetscher wrote:

I think part of the controversy is color shift from the photo  
itself.  Note that the swallow' chin  appears bright red, not rusty  
as is typical of Cliff Swallows.  The house sparrow would have a  
similar color shift which would increase the yellow.

Ruth Troetschler
At 11:18 PM -0700 5/5/06, Alvaro Jaramillo wrote:
 >All
 >
 >  I think that Bill was saying that it is a House Sparrow, not an  
American
 >Goldfinch. It certainly looks fine for a female House Sparrow to  
me, the
 >only issue is that it shows yellow on the face. This may be a plumage
 >anomaly, or maybe even pollen. For a bit I wondered about a female Red
 >Bishop, but that can be eliminated by the lack of streaking on  
breast. The
 >bill shape, other than being finch-shaped is not like an American  
Goldfinch.
 >The Goldfinch has a very pointed and triangular bill, it does not  
bulge out
 >like on this bird. That bulgy finch-shaped bill is classic for House
 >Sparrow. American Goldfinches can sure look variable due to their  
molt, but
 >that occurs earlier in the season, by now males are looking like  
breeding
 >males and not in intermediate plumages. I think that this bird is a  
House
 >Sparrow, as Bill notes, it just shows some funny yellow color on  
the face
 >and that is what is throwing people. If you saw it in black and  
white, it
 >would likely look more like a House Sparrow!
 >
 >Good birding
 >
 >Al
 >
 >Alvaro Jaramillo
 >[[email protected]]
 >Half Moon Bay, CA
 >
 >Field Guides - Birding Tours Worldwide
 >http://www.fieldguides.com/home.htm
 >
 >
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