"....the identification of birds is simply the alphabet to the real study, the alphabet by means of which we may spell out the life habits of the bird. To know these habits is the ambition of the true ornithologist, and should likewise be the ambition of the beginner, even though the beginner be a young child."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 27
White-crowned sparrow
Although this particular kind of sparrow is not covered in the Handbook of Nature Study, there are three other kinds of sparrows that are discussed. I think we can apply the study suggestions to our particular sparrows.
More sparrows to observe...
These birds come to the feeders every morning and usually there is a line of birds on the branch waiting to get their turn at the feeder. I have even seen some of these birds do a little hovering to try to get someone to move off the perch.
This is one of my favorite birds that frequents the feeders. It is a spotted towhee and it's red belly and black and white spots are hard to miss as it usually rustles around in the leaves under the feeder looking for stray seed. This time of year there is no shortage of seed on the ground because the finches and sparrows are very messy eaters.
Katie sent me this link today to a great project you can involve your family in during the long days of winter. Check out this link:
Celebrate Urban Birds
You can read about the challenge and the free kit that you can order about birds. I downloaded mine from the website and we will be participating soon.
I cannot emphasize enough how enjoyable watching birds in a birdfeeder is for all members of the family. The more time you spend watching the birds and their habits, the more enjoyable and satisfying it is as a pastime. We do not always identify every bird but we know many, many of them by now.
Some of our favorite websites for bird identification:
whatbird.com
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Project FeederWatch
Great Backyard Bird Count-Coming February 13-16, 2009
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
