Common Beauty

So often we refer to our really common birds, such as sparrows, as either “nuisance” birds or “nothing to crow about”, but these comments typically come from someone not too familiar with the sparrow family. But as any knowledgeable birder will tell you, the sparrow family has a lot of different species in the group, some of them quite handsome. Such is the case with the Harris’ Sparrow (Zonothrichia querula). These images were taken a little over a week ago, on one of my kayak outings. The funny thing … all these images were made from my truck, in the parking lot! As I finished my morning of paddling the area’s waters, I loaded up the kayak in the back of the truck, made sure all my photo gear had been safely stowed inside the truck’s cab, and was just about ready to leave when I noticed a small group of these handsome guys fly in to the grassland that borders the parking lot. Being one not to waste an opportunity, I reached around and grabbed my camera, slowly opened my side window, and began shooting these little guys as they foraged about the area. Here are a few images:

 

Harris' Sparrow

 

Harris' Sparrow

 

Harris' Sparrow

 

So maybe the sparrow is a “common” bird. But the Harris’ Sparrow certainly goes beyond what we typically picture as a common bird … such beauty!

 

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