And yet another sparrow species has returned to our yard.
Named such for their reddish, fox like color.
I like the above shot for how it shows the placement of the eyes on either side of the bird's head. Prey animals generally have eyes on the side of their heads like this, to give a wider view of their surroundings, ever vigilant for predators, albeit at the cost of 3D vision. But flight would seem to require acute 3D vision, to navigate between obstacles and such. Curious.
These birds breed way up in northern Canada. Which might explain why they are one of the later species to arrive here at Piney Place. And while they don't arrive in the numbers that White-throated Sparrows or Dark-eyed Juncos do, we have had them in double digits on rare occasions.
And while it is always nice to see them it really does portend colder temperatures and shorter days.
And a visit from Santa! So it's not all bad.
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