Harris Sparrow

What a lovely little bird, when most of us think of sparrows we think of the not so lovely or welcome "house sparrow" The one who is responsible for raiding nesting boxes and taking away shelters from our native birds, and the ones who swoop down to relieve themselves of their dinner on top our clean cars. Let me assure this wonderful little Sparrow would never degrade himself in such a manner. He is a gentlemen among paupers. Even his feathers give him a noble appearance, much like the lord of the manner. He appears in Northwest Missouri for a short period of time through the winter months, then he heads back north to his breeding grounds in Canada. He towers over most sparrows, at 7 inches in length. This picture was taken in November in a fence row on the backside of our property. They tend to be very secretive, sometimes spotted at feeders, usually walking on the ground gleaning whatever seeds they can find. Watch for this wonderful little sparrow, and see if you too aren't impressed.