Tag Archives: ornithology

A Bird In The Hand

Is worth two in the bush.

Bushtits, Wildomar Ca

 

These little visitors keep peeking in our windows. They perch on the edge of the window, and take a good look before jumping back in the bush. There are usually four or five in the bush together. I don’t know much about birds, but I think these are Bushtits. Maybe that is too easy an answer. Found this description, on The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and it fits:

Bushtits are sprightly, social songbirds that twitter as they fly weakly between shrubs and thickets in western North America. Almost always found in lively flocks, they move constantly, often hanging upside down to pick at insects or spiders on the undersides of leaves. Flocks of Bushtits mix with similar small songbirds like warblers, chickadees, and kinglets while foraging.

Of course I know they are only checking themselves out in the glass. They are about 3 or 4 inches long. I learned that the females have light eyes, and the males are dark eyed. You can see in the bottom photos that we had a pair.

 

One bird, then two,
then three, now four.
Chirp, chirp, chirping,
just outside my door. 
I wonder where they came from.
I wonder where they will go. 
Just keep on wondering, I must,
For only the winged can know.
SMD