Songbirds Duel and Make-Up With Duets

Beach birds on the beach in Camyuva, Turkey. August 2008

Margot Wolfs has contributed a photo to this story.

coljay72 at Flickr. Resident in Lincolnshire, UK

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Birds will only happy in wild

Eric Ang has contributed a photo to this story.

This little juvenile song sparrow was waiting his turn at my birdfeeders.

rlechols has contributed a photo to this story.

i didn't actually see the hawk capturing the sparrow. The only thing I saw was the hawk flying over me with the sparrow, and then it sat on to that light-energy gathering device. I happened to be fortunate and have my camera and my long 200mm lens with me, that was the shot. I've caught several hawks around the Greater Boston area, and they seem to be quite well.

njbelin has contributed a photo to this story.

They get tired too. I watched this one for some time, and he appeared to 'yawn'. Perhaps he'd had a hard day.

This image was taken as one of a group of House Sparrows feeding in my back garden. They are daily visitors and are attracted by my bird feeding station.

dave101saunders djsphotographicimages.com has contributed a photo to this story.

Urban Moocher
Busy little sparrows are always fluttering about in an urban setting......waiting for the next crumb to fall from a person sandwich or child's cookie.

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Every afternoon, hundreds of sparrows joyfully dance and sing from roof to roof, among several buildings. Everyday they do the same. It looks like a ritual.

segredo has contributed a photo to this story.

The photos taken from my backyard, I like to watching them to visit my birdhouse. It helps me get object for my photography hobby, kind of take and give, I provide the seeds and they give me very natural poses.

indrean has contributed a photo to this story.

These sparrows were only a few of the fifty or so that were flying in and out of the trees bordering a local pond. Although you couldn't see all of them, you could here all of them as they were very noisy chirping away and rustling around in the trees.

Jeff A1 has contributed a photo to this story.

awww look at the little birdie

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VIII
I know noble accents
And lucid, inescapable rhythms;
But I know, too,
That the blackbird is involved
In what I know.

Wallace Stevens

http://edgeofmaine.blogspot.com/

Bradford Fuller has contributed a photo to this story.

This little one was very active, there were a few sparrows but this one peeled off from the rest.

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This year I started calling a corner of our yard Sparrow's Corner, each year a the old and newly formed couples add to the families here. They definitely communicate like a big loving family! I watched and listened to the whole process of this last new brood of baby sparrows as they joined the large and existing family we've watched grow from the first year we put up houses and feeder.  I watched and recorded the grandfather, his mate and his entire bunch. but notice he was always on alert looking for predictors and sending the warnings when he spotted a cat outside the fence.  He was also there when the new parents were feeding the young, just sitting atop his house watching them and chirping to them.

The most exciting three days were when the time came to coax these babes out of the nest. I'd never seen it actually happening until this year.  Watching the mother bring their food but not giving it to them, instead she would hold it just outside their reach from every possible position. As she did this there were chirps of encouragement coming from surrounding sparrows.  The mother would make the same chirps each time she flew from away from her nest, as if to say, follow me.  She did this non stop for three days, all day long.  Eventually the two larger babes pushed the smallest one out as she was reaching for momma's bait, they'd grown tired of waiting their turn to beg for food from out of the small hole.  The smallest started to fall but instinct took over and she made it all the way to the split rail fence where mom was waiting. By day three only one babe possibly remained in the nest, it was quiet though as all the Sparrows, seemed to accompany momma as she showed these little newbies around the yard.

I was watering a nearby hanging basket, thinking the nest was more than likely empty by when the largest of the three babies appeared at the hole.  As I turned in surprise my hose followed; realizing too late and with a sinking heart I watched as the water hit this baby and caught it by surprise as well.  Startled it began to tumble out of the nest righting itself in a most awkward position as it flew precariously to the fence. She didn't quite land, she more like stopped and hitting it kind of all cock-eyed went down into the bush below.  I heard her begin to chirp using the same note she had when calling out for food.

I knew none of the sparrow families had been out back for most of that day, they'd flown over the house to somewhere out front much earlier. This baby, the largest of the three just kept chirping a single note and by chance another young sparrow must have heard her as it was flying solo when it arrived.  It chirped back each time the baby did and they continued to go back and forth until the older sparrow pinpointedg its exact location.  Flying down to it she chirped once again and left the baby flying once again back over the house from the direction it had come.  Within minutes the mother arrived with the other bird and called to her baby, she too did this until she knew where the babe was locating it hiding under the bush.  

I watched with hope and joy as this rescue played out;  instead of flying down to her little one she chose to move only to a lower rail and continued to chirp in the same manner she had when she 'd flown away from the nest after they'd failed to take the bait food she'd offered and follow her.  The same sound I'd heard for days imploring them to be brave and follow her. Sure enough the baby flew up to meet her on the rail, then up to the next rail she went and onto the top of the fence wire, she'd chirp and the little one would follow then she with the babe close behind went up and over the house.  I was saved from guilt and left in wonder.

They had not returned to the nest since that time, weeks ago, but just the other day, (my camera inside:(), I was amazed again to see four sparrows on the hanging basket and one peeking out of the nest, she had two broods in there this year and I am sure all the other babes were near-by. They all were chirping as if to say, "Home, Sweet, Home" before they flew off and across the yard together.

Sparrow's corner is right off our Gazebo so we get to watch their lives each and everyday.  It really is amazing and obvious to see that they are a community, and a very tight knit one at that.

can5dos has contributed a photo to this story.

I took this photo from my rooftop.

Nabarun Sadhya has contributed a photo to this story.

Photo of a Cape Sparrow was taken in my yard in Pretoria North South Africa.

Terrence J has contributed a photo to this story.

I just happened to see this male sparrow on the sidewall of my terrace and wanted to take a picture of it.

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It was raining and this baby sparrow was taking a shelter under a plant. I moved in very very slowly to make sure that I don't bother it and got a a chance to take a close-up shot. Isn't the baby just beautiful!

AmeetC has contributed a photo to this story.

It's amazing what birds can communicate through song-if we could only analyze what all their calls mean how ahead we would be

I wonder what my song sparrow was communicating-I think happiness :)

"Use the talents you possess for the woods would be silent if no birds sang but the best."
Henry Jackson Van Dyke

I took my photo of a male House Sparrow in a grocery store parking lot in Salem, OR. To human ears the House Sparrow is very unmusical; giving a variety of chirps. Native to Europe, In the United States it is considered a pest. It takes over the nests of native songs birds causing their numbers to decline.

youngwarrior has contributed a photo to this story.

The Rufous-collared Sparrow. A songbird species which range extends from Mexico down to Patagonia in Argentina. It is only found in the island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti) in the whole west indies (caribbean) region.

Hispanio_land has contributed a photo to this story.

This House Sparrow was photographed in Yala National Park, Sri Lanka. Its a bird we usually see in home gardens but was surprised to see it in the middle of the jungle....the pair of birds came in side our jeep and was looking through the mirrors and getting rather excited...thinking they had a rival bird in their territory. This picture was taken when the Male sparrow rested on the spare tyre which was on the front bonnet of the jeep...

Blue.Magpie has contributed a photo to this story.

This bird make their nest by making a hole on a dead trees by using thei peck. A long of my witnesses I've never heard of any singging duel from them, only a simple tweet to show their present. Their size are smaller than sunbird but another species of woodpecker are bigger.

amans view has contributed a photo to this story.

This Photo was taken at my balcony in my apartment in Amara, Eritrea. I am not really a bird photographer but it just came to me that during that season birds are aplenty. So i decided to set some food for the birds outside and positioned my Canon ixus point and shoot camera on a tripod, covers it with the curtain and waited. I heard a lot of chirping in fast flurries and when I took a peak, this Yellow sparrow was picking on my set. So I carefully positioned in and got some shots. There were times that other variety of birds came together with this one but they end up chirping their way to a fight of some sorts, which was difficult to shoot. I only wished I have my DSLR with me.

jlizaso2 has contributed a photo to this story.

Birds sing for two reasons: Sex and real estate!

lselman has contributed a photo to this story.

Brave, hungry sparrows eating oats the horses have dropped at the stables.

peter_nzl has contributed a photo to this story.

For some reason, when I took the picture, the sparrow wasn't afraid of people at all! That was a good thing for me - I was able to get an up close shot!

WinterWriter has contributed a photo to this story.