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Friday, January 08, 2010

What Birds?



Help! What are these weird little birds? They are the size exactly of English Sparrows but aren't...Are they some common sparrow we are too dumb to recognize or are they a hybrid? They look like tree sparrows, but there is no trace of a central breast spot and they are just not quite right....



I have been putting seed right under the dining room window so they would come close....they have obliged, but every time I get one in the screen somebody slams a door or drives up the driveway and they fly away....dag nab it. So these are not the best, having been taken through the kitchen window, where I have to hold the camera over my head and hope I actually have a bird in the frame.....

13 comments:

lisa said...

I wish I knew, but you know my bird skills already! I had a dove in my feeder next to the den window and she stayed right there even when I moved, dang it, where is that camera!

Anonymous said...

My best guess is a Feild Sparrow. The site below may be of assistance.

http://www.greglasley.net/fieldsp.html

Jessika said...

My 10 year old, avid bird-watching
daughter says it is a Redpoll. Such cute little things!

Dani said...

They look like American Tree Sparrows. Can you tell if the beak is 2-toned, with brown on the top and yellow on the lower bill?

Jinglebob said...

own-throated-hidesalot-would-be-my-guess!

Sandcastle Momma said...

I think it's a Field Sparrow too. But you know those sparrows all sort of look the same LOL

R.Powers said...

It's not a pelican ... I'm sure of that.

Wil said...

I've always called that variety "Swamp Sparrows." Then again, what do I know?

Ed said...

I would say either field sparrows or common sparrows, the winter time makes the appearance look a bit odd. My mom has them all over the place in Tennessee..:-)

threecollie said...

To all: thanks so much for chiming in with ideas about our little brown birds. We are going to go with field sparrows.(thanks AKAAWM) We had narrowed it down to them or swamp sparrows and the size isn't quite right for the latter. What was throwing us off was the bufffy stripe down the center of the head. That doesn't show up in any of our plethora of field guides...and we have never had these at the feeder before, which I suppose says something about the severity of the weather.

Anonymous said...

I'm late to the party but I was going to say it isn't an eagle...or at least I think it isn't:) We have the same ones and my book says field sparrow.

threecollie said...

Linda, I am sure that you are right. We were being thrown off by the stripe on top of the center of the head, which doesn't show in any of our field guides

Mrs. Mecomber said...

Are those finch beaks?? Hard to tell from the photo. All we got are crows.. blasted suburbia!!!