Chirps and Cheeps

Hoping to catch a few of the "regulars" that show up at our feeders to complete yesterday's photos, I found a White-throated Sparrow scratching for food underneath the kitchen feeders. That's a first for this guy in December!  We usually get to see this species only in spring and fall migration as they're passing through.  I don't know if this guy is lost or if he will over-winter here, as some apparently do.

There are two color variations of the White-throated Sparrow: bright white crowned and tan crowned. Our visitor is the duller, tan form. Did you know that, regardless of which color form they are, they will almost always breed with the opposite color morph? BUT - males of both morphs prefer females with white stripes and females of both morphs prefer tan striped males. I find that very interesting!

Another happy surprise was a Carolina Wren who came to the back feeders for seeds and suet. I never got a photo of that guy but I was able to catch a few photos of the sparrow along with a couple of other regulars that I missed the other day: a Hairy Woodpecker and a Purple Finch.  Unfortunately, I couldn't catch the male Purple Finch, by far the more attractive of the pair of finches!  He'll be back, though...