A boldly patterned male Lark Sparrow stands proud, as if modeling for Bruce's lens. No shrinking violet Le Conte's Sparrow types, these harlequin-faced beauts.
The female of the pair gathers rootlets for nesting material. Given where these birds were, chances are good that some of that vegetation is listed as endangered or threatened. But we'll cut her some slack - these Lark Sparrows of the Oak Openings are the easternmost breeding population.In a remarkable display of multitasking, we saw the male mount her several times - while she also held a mouthful of nesting material. Efficient little devils, I'd say.
Thanks mucho to Bruce for sharing his fabulous work with us.
5 comments:
Awesome post Jim. I would love to see these sparrows. They are lovely and Bruce sure did get some nice shots.
Wil
Last year we had a least one nesting pair of Lark Sparrows at Leighley Hill rd on the Holmes Co. Tuscarawas Co. border which would make THEM the easternmost nesting pair. (we are pretty defensive of our birds)They are back on territory again.
Great photos!
I noticed the females often soliciting copulation in this way. In all cases, including this picture, the female held a beak-full of fine nesting material, especially horse hair. I think that this signaled that she was choosing this male's territory and was ready for the final stage of nest building just prior to egg laying. I'm still not sure if the male assists in nest building, but something to keep in mind.
I also noticed that the female was one of the birds I color-banded a few years back (though the combination is obscured). Any chance I could get copies of any photos you took where a color band is visible? (rossjd AT bgsu.edu) It would be greatly appreciated.
Actually, there is a nesting pair close to Sugarcreek. If you look at the Breeding Bird Atlas site, you can locate them. Great birds and great pictures! You are so right, "Eye Candy" is so appropriate.
thanks for the great pics of Lark Sparrow. We were able to identify the larger boldly colored sparrow-like bird that came to feeder a couple of days ago. Never saw one before at east side of Seneca Lake in NY. Thanks!
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