Male Cardinal and Sparrow

Oh wow! This has to be the best picture of a cardinal! And the little sparrow is so cute too.

WOW CM this is a great shot! love it!

Two birds; sharing a branch together! :)

Thank you mariolyn.

Is it finally settled? Can I comment now? For me, it's just a pleasant picture to look at. Thanks.

LOL morris.

We'll call it a chickie sparrow, since you discovered it!!!

Ok then, I'll change the title. LOL

I agree with dondi - the eye stripe is wrong for a Chipping Sparrow (I wrote that below, too). And beak color also seems to be odd. I love dondi's "piling system" - that's the same way I keep track of things.

Thank you dondi. I wish the little guy could talk and tell us.

I agree it's confusing. I don't think this is a chipping sparrow, although I can see how it would be difficult to identify the bird. First, it's too big - chipping sparrows are among the smallest of sparrows. Second, it doesn't have a prominent enough cap or eye stripe. I've posted puzzles of two pictures of chipping sparrows I took in Connecticut earlier this year:

http://www.jigidi.com/puzzle.php?id=1KW9F6KZ
http://www.jigidi.com/puzzle.php?id=80V21I5Q

I can't say what the bird is (my bird books are currently lost in my piling system), but I don't think it's a chipper.

Gorgeous picture! Thanks chickiemama. And you are right. David is very good. He is like Sherlock Holmes!!

Thank you robryan.

Phew!! I thought a sparrow was a sparrow!! Shows how little I know!! Great photo though - thanks chickie.

Thank you morris! You can always count on david when it comes to plants and birds.

Glad ya'll got that figured out! Excellent photo, chickie!

(hee-hee, I'm pleased. Feb. 27 sounds perfect to the ear of my eye for buds.)

Wow, thanks david. It was taken Feb. 27th. You are good. We shall call it a chipping Sparrow then.

This is all too technical for me - I think I'll sit this one out.....nice photo though, chickie! LOL

Hi, CM, I'm checking in again with my field guides in hand. This is a mixed-up little fella, or (I'm leaning toward) gal. The eyebrow stripe is white to my eye (Chipping Sparrow), but the eye stripe is not distinctly dark (American Tree Sparrow = "Winter Chippy"). The breast and the wing striping are exact matches for the Chipping Sparrow (no spot on the breast), but - in Connecticut anyway - they are all gone to Mexico this time of year. In the north I don't expect to see Chippies but instead the Winter Chippies (American Tree Sparrows) come to take their place.

Now, when I look at the maple buds in this photo, I have a strong suspicion that this photo is taken in February, not December. If that's true, and you are in southern Illinois, _maybe_ it's a newly-returned Chipping Sparrow.

A good friend of mine calls them LBJ's - Little Brown Jobbers.

Great photo, CM.

(BTW, some of that so-called bird repellant, such as Bird Proof Gel, will stick 'em to the branch.. ?)

Thank you Hanne, roseheather, okieclem, Celeste and Ank.

Hi roseheather. Thanks for the link. It is confusing to me. I looked in my book again and the chipping sparrow has a gray beak. I have talked to people from Audubon Soc. about variations of other birds and they say there are always variations to coloring and patterns. I am hoping david will come back and make a comment.

It's good thet you write and Tree Sparrow, because Mr Cardinal dominates the picture with his colors. Maybe strange but I like the Sparrow better.

Wonderful picture :)

Wow -- amazing picture!

Beautiful.

I was wondering about the tree sparrow, though. Ours have a "tie tack" on the upper breast. See: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/chispa_amtspa_IDtable.htm
Cornell lab does say that the spot is sometimes hidden. ; )

The faces of beauty are very different indeed, don't you think so? They are beautiful both of them in each their own way!! Thanks so very much Sandy!!

Thank you jcarroll, young man and bradjan.

Pretty birds. thanks

Great photo young lady. A little glue on the branch will hold them there for a little while and you can get several shots even some action shots. It works for me.

Wonderful photo, chickie!

It's near the feeder david. :)

Thank you JiggyBelle and goingsilver.

Gorgeous photo chickie!

Chickie these are the most amazingly clear and beautiful shots. The cardinal is a bit of a "ham," don't you think? Thanks so much!
1:25

He really likes that maple tree!