I was able to photograph a new, Life bird yesterday … a Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus). My good friend Ginny invited me over to Pete/her’s rural home to photograph this “misplaced” bird. Arriving in the morning, it only took about 10 minutes for the bird to show up, courted by a whole flock of House Sparrows. The Eurasian Tree Sparrow is most notably recognized by the dark spots, against a whitish background, on both cheeks:
And this image is a nice one to complete the post … (front to back) Eurasian Tree Sparrow, female House Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow :o)
Researching this new bird, I discovered that it is native to the Old World. It was released in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1870, where it became established. Unlike it’s close relative the House Sparrow, it has not spread very far from it’s release area. Looking at distribution maps, it seems to only live in St. Louis and a very small section of western Illinois. Guess this one was on vacation :o)
Photographic Equipment Used:
- Canon 5D Mark 3 body
- Canon EF 100mm-400mm, f/4.5-f/5.6 IS lens, with Canon 1.4x TC, shot at 560mm
- Handheld, with IS “On”, and shot through a house window
- ISO 800
- Aperture f/8
- Shutter 1/160 sec.