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Refreshing...(3)
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note [French] |
An American Tree Sparrow(Spizella Arborea, 16cm) in the snow. Shot at Bois Papineau.
The American Tree Sparrow is a common winter visitor in backyards all across southern Canada and the northern United States. Despite its common name, it forages on the ground, nests on the ground, and breeds primarily above treeline in the far North.
Cool Facts
During the summer, the American Tree Sparrow eats nearly 100% animal matter (mostly insects). In the winter it eats none, turning then to eating entirely seeds and other plant foods.
As in most birds, the American Tree Sparrow is sensitive to changes in day length, which influence the growth of the sex organs. Increasing day length in late winter causes the gonads to grow. This sensitivity to light is independent of vision. Blind tree sparrows in captivity still show normal patterns of gonadal growth when kept in the proper light conditions.
No one knows just how many American Tree Sparrows exist. But they breed across a vast expanse of northern Canada and Alaska, approximately 100 million hectares (247 million acres). If the area is about 10-20% filled by tree sparrows, and they have 1-ha territories, as is the case near Churchill, Manitoba where they have been well studied, then approximately 10 to 20 million pairs should be breeding.
A study found that the American Tree Sparrow seems to prefer to look for predators out of its left eye. This preference may be because the right hemisphere of the brain is dominant for processing visual information. Oddly, the Dark-eyed Juncos examined in the same study preferred to look out of their right eyes.
Description
Size: 14 cm (6 in)
Wingspan: 24 cm (9 in)
Weight: 13-28 g (0.46-0.99 ounces)
Small songbird.
Rusty brown crown and eyestripe on gray head.
Dark spot in center of unstreaked breast.
Two white wingbars.
Tail rather long.
Upper bill dark gray, lower bill yellow.
Rusty brown back with dark streaks.
Buff sides tinged with rusty brown.
Belly gray.
Sex Differences
Sexes alike.
Immature
Juvenile like adult, but with some streaks on crown, nape, and breast.
Similar Species
Chipping Sparrow smaller, without dark central chest spot, and a black (not rusty) stripe through the eye. Chipping Sparrow has brown crown with faint streaks in winter. Go here for more on distinguishing these two species.
Field Sparrow has pink bill, distinct eyering, and lacks spot on chest.
Song Sparrow has streaks on chest as well as central spot, and dark mustache marks.
Lark Sparrow has bold face pattern and white on outer tail feathers.
Sound
Song a series of thin, high, sweet whistled notes. Call a hard "tseet."
Range
Winter Range
Winters from southern Canada southward to northern Arizona, northern Texas, and South Carolina.
Habitat
Breeds in open scrubby areas near treeline. Winters in fields, marshes, gardens, open forests, and residential neighborhoods.
Food
Seeds, berries, and insects.
Behavior
Foraging
Feeds on ground or in low shrubs.
Reproduction
Nest Type
Open cup of moss, grasses, shreds of bark and twigs, lined with fine grass and feathers (usually from a ptarmigan). Placed on or near ground, often in tussock of grass at base of shrub.
Egg Description
Pale blue with reddish speckling.
Clutch Size
4-6 eggs.
Condition at Hatching
Helpless with sparse tufts of brownish gray down.
Conservation Status
Common. Remote breeding areas little affected by people. Uses human-modified habitats readily in winter.
Other Names
Bruant hudsonien (French) |
nglen, techranger, eqshannon, crs, boreocypriensis, Seabird, Miss_Piggy, albert, gannu, Alex99 has marked this note useful
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I've heard of having a "hot foot" but not this guy... ;)
Well done, very nice detail over the whole spectrum.
Larry
I am looking at numbers and such here....at this time in the 60's but low in understanding on how hard it must have been to keep that white as pure as ....well as snow which it is..and the to make the bird so very well sharpened without messing with your white..now that is tough..so whether it is your camera or your excellent post work...it works...I learn only from masters such as you...
Bob
- crs
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 405 W: 0 N: 630]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-g.gif)
(2537) - [2008-08-25 21:01]
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Hello Mario,
Very good photo you made! I am impressed by the way you rendered the colors. You managed to show all the reachness of color tones from buird's plumage. Image is very sharp and contribute at the excelent overall quality of the image.
Thank you for sharing,
Cristian
Hi friend Mario, an excellent shot of this American Tree Sparrow in the snow with great POV! Lovely indeed!
Many thanks for sharing this beauty.
Cheers,
Bayram
Hi, Mario,
very nice capture of a beautiful tree sparrow. the composition is very good - I see the semi-circular eye of the bird and the semi-circular 'hole' in the left upper corner in parallel to each other. tks.
chrs,
Man Yee
Hallo Mario
Superb display of soft arrangement of brown colours of the of the feathers. Great camera work and a real feast to the eye. Great details. It is amazing how perfect the shape and patterns back feathers are, as if each one was sketched by hand. I like the position you have captured this one from the side showing us the size of the bird. Good focus and framing, presented in a delightful manner. Thanks for sharing.
Kind regards
Anna
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- albert
(989)
- [2008-08-26 6:14]
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Bonjour Mario,
Une autre belle photo de ce bruant avec l'oeil pointé sur la neige a la recherche de quelque nourriture
Bien cordialement
Albert
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- gannu
(11874)
- [2008-08-26 8:26]
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Hello Friend, a very detailed and a good note. Lovely sharp picture with superb details on feather. Great colors and good composition. Ganesh
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- Alex99
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3174 W: 154 N: 4796]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(15481) - [2008-08-26 11:55]
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Hi Mario.
Once more brilliant shot with breathtaking sharpness and details of the bird and outstanding exposure and reproduction of the snow. Bravo.
Alexei.
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- nglen
(22528)
- [2008-08-26 12:46]
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Hi Mario. You keep trying to get us ready for winetr with your snow pictures . This is a goodclose up of the litle sparrow . You have captured fine detail and colours. It looks like he is looking for some food. well done TFS
good notes too.
Nick..
Bonjour Mario,
Ce bruant hudsonien sur la neige est impressionnant. Les détails et les couleurs de l'oiseau sont clairs et nets. La réflexion de la lumière sur la neige fait ressortir les couleurs. Bonne journée.
Pierre
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1214 W: 18 N: 790]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-s-g.gif)
(3678)