Patio Sparrows

Here are a couple of birds who stopped by my patio for Christmas dinner. Though I can't guarantee that any other birds showed up, by far the most common visitors were Dark-eyed Juncos and House Sparrows. Though both of these birds are sparrows, they're really not close relatives since the former are New World Sparrows and the latter are Old World Sparrows, and their ancestries diverged a long time ago.

Although House Sparrows aren't big, they really do tower over the Dark-eyed Juncos. I didn't see a lot of interaction between the 2 species but suspect that the juncos like to keep a respectful distance from their distant cousins. I do see some feisty exchanges between juncos though as they establish a pecking order. (I tried to go out and explain that there was no reason to fight, that I'd just bring out more food when the current scatterings were gone, but unfortunately they flew away in terror before I could say anything.)

December 25, 2022 in Bridgewater
Photo 251771395, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

December 25, 2022 in Bridgewater
Photo 251771410, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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