This week, I've seen some interesting behavior from my back yard birds. My adult Chipping Sparrows have been feeding much larger, immature birds. Below is a photo. Sorry for the quality, but I am admittedly a poor photographer. The larger, immature bird gives the typical crouched down, wing shaking and squawking from a stationary position and the adult Chipping Sparrow responds by going up to the feeder and getting some food to take back and put into the immature bird's mouth. This goes on for about 10 minutes in different locations. I'm not the best at identifying immature birds. The immature looks a bit like a female Red-Winged Black Bird, but not enough stripes. Is the immature bird a Brown Headed Cow Bird and is this behavior the result of a Cowbird putting its eggs in a Chipping Sparrow's nest? That's the best explanation that I can give, but I figured I'd throw it out to the Listserv and see if any of you had any thoughts. Thanks in advance for your input. Spencer PS - You can probably see the image imbedded in this email, but if the quality is not good, just click on the orange oval below the photo that says "See Pictures." That will link you to the Shutterfly website for a better quality photo. You won't need to log in or create a user name. Respond to me off list if you are having trouble viewing the photo. <http://web1-share.shutterfly.com/img_/misc/share_border_top.gif> <http://web1-share.shutterfly.com/img_/misc/share_border_top.gif> <http://web1-share.shutterfly.com/img_/misc/share_border_top.gif> <http://web1-share.shutterfly.com/img_/misc/share_border_side.gif> Pictures for you! <http://www.shutterfly.com/?emid=sharview&linkid=link1> <http://www.shutterfly.com/?emid=sharview&linkid=link1> Shutterfly <http://www.shutterfly.com/?emid=sharview&linkid=link1> <http://web1-share.shutterfly.com/img_/SFLY/navcolor_W.gif> From: The Ryan Family _____ Pictures from The Ryan Family <http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8GctmjRw1ao8&emid=sharview&l inkid=link4> <http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8GctmjRw1ao8&emid=sharview&l inkid=link3> <http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8GctmjRw1ao8&emid=sharview&l inkid=link3> See pictures <http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8GctmjRw1ao8&emid=sharview&l inkid=link3> <http://web1-share.shutterfly.com/img_/misc/stack_right_267.gif> <http://web1-share.shutterfly.com/img_/misc/stack_bottom_267.gif> <http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8GctmjRw1ao8&emid=sharview&l inkid=link2> See pictures (1 of 1 pictures) If selecting "See pictures" doesn't work, copy-and-paste this address into your browser: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8GctmjRw1ao8 <http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8GctmjRw1ao8&emid=sharview&l inkid=link5> <http://web1-share.shutterfly.com/img_/misc/share_border_side.gif> <http://web1-share.shutterfly.com/img_/misc/share_border_top.gif> <http://www.shutterfly.com/shop/product_c10131-p2015/Savings_Plans_Prepaid_4 x6_Plans> <http://ai.shutterfly.com/ai?hb=DM541019M7FD&ai=EMC-share_invite_viewer> Internal Virus Database is out of date. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.138 / Virus Database: 270.5.4/1566 - Release Date: 7/22/2008 6:00 AM ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]
