Sunday, January 31, 2010

Crowned Pool Pal

White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii - 30 January 2010
This little guy sat on the fence surrounding the pool for a long time, letting me snap away. While I guessed him to be a sparrow, I learned further from the Golden Guide: Birds of North America that his kind is "abundant in West, in thickets, hedgerows, or wood margins adjacent to fields or open areas...Song is of clear whistles and buzzy trills." I also learned that lore is "the space between the eye and the bill of a bird" and that this particular sparrow has no color at the lore, as opposed to other crowned sparrows.

21 comments:

PJ said...

A cheeky bird! I love eet! I took too much cough medicine and now I can't sleep!

wv gress
But I gress...

Kim said...

Wow, I've never seen a predominantly white sparrow before. It's really pretty and I'm glad he was a willing subject. I'm loving the poolside shots. . .one of the only things I miss about SoCal culture :-).
Hope you are having a great weekend, Tash.
-Kim

PS, my verification word was "menesing". . . hardly!

Stefan Jansson said...

That's anew sparrow for me.

brattcat said...

What a curious little bird. We have sparrows here in New England but they look nothing like this endearing little one.

spacedlaw said...

Cute little fluffy guy! Well spotted.

Louis la Vache said...

«Louis» didn't know about this variety of sparrow. Now he'll watch for it. hee hee «Louis» learned something here today!

(Editor to «Louis»: That's the ONLY thing you've learned recently!

«Louis» to Editor: Shaddup or you'll learn what my hooves applied to your backside will feel like...)

Dan said...

He is a chubby little guy. My guess is he was quite happy to sit there for a long, long time.

Crafty Green Poet said...

what a pretty sparrow - seems to enjoy having its photo taken!

Clueless in Boston said...

He looks like he has bulked up for the winter too, although I'm sure it's not too cold in PV.

Almost Precious said...

Such a cooperative little model, must have a bit of a ham in him. He is a handsome little fellow and I couldn't help but notice that he's all fluffed up...which could mean he is either cold or he is trying to look bigger and more impressive. That's a man for you, see a pretty gal and they start flexing their muscles. :)

Anonymous said...

Oh, I just love his fat little tummy and the smile. Birds always pose for you.

Anonymous said...

They may be abundant in the west but I have never seen one. Sweet tweet

Halcyon said...

What a lovely photo of this little guy! We get a lot of chipping sparrows around here - they have a similar head-stripe but their bodies are darker. This little fellow is quite cute.

Cafe Pasadena said...

Pleaze thank PJ for her tasty chocolate mug cake! I don't know where I wood bee w/o her alerting me to these kinda things.
Next year, if not sooner, I will use it to celebrate the national chocolate day.

James said...

What a cute little ham. :) Very nice photos. Birds are fun to take pictures of.

Julie ScottsdaleDailyPhoto.com said...

so cute. what a great close-up

Virginia said...

What a great little guy! I'm glad he was a poser for you!
V

gogouci said...

What beautiful markings. Great capture. The only things I see in the sky these days are clouds and migrating geese.

Lois said...

He is a cute little fellow! I learned something from your post Tash. I didn't know what the lore was either and now I do. Thanks!

Cezar and Léia said...

oh Tash, this post is really cute!
I loved this little friend!
Léia

Lori Lynn said...

How sweet!
I love learning the names of local fauna and flora.
LL