H.J. Ruiz – Avian101

Field Sparrow

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The Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla) is a small New World sparrow in the family Passerellidae. Thiese birds are a must have on every backyard ’s feeders. I call them “happy birds” congenial with other birds. Their breeding habitat is brushy, shrubby fields across eastern North America. The nest is an open cup on the ground under a clump of grass or in a small thicket. These birds are permanent residents in the southern parts of their range. Northern birds migrate to the southern United States and Mexico., 

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Tufted Titmouse

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The Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) is a small songbird from North America, a species in the tit and chickadee family Paridae.  The very first time I photographed one titmouse I was impressed by the similarity to a cartoon of a bird, especially with the dark rounded eyes and the gray crested on his head. From 1966 to 2015 the tufted titmouse population has increased by more than 1.5% per year throughout the northeastern U.S., Michigan, and Wisconsin.

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Eastern Towhee

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The Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) is a large New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been under debate in recent decades, and formerly this bird and the spotted towhee were considered a single species, the rufous-sided towhee. Eastern towhees primarily eat on the ground, although they also glean from vegetation. In a southeastern Massachusetts pitch pine barren, 73.5% of male and 80.4% of female foraging observations were on the ground. When foraging on the ground eastern towhees use a scratching technique where both feet kick back simultaneously.^] In a laboratory study 4 eastern towhees used this method to successfully obtain seed buried almost 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep.

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Brown-headed Nuthatch

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The Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla) is a small songbird found endemic to pine forests throughout the Southeastern United States..These little birds Stay though the winter in my backyard and are very energetic, also very smart, work all day picking seeds from the ffeders and takeing them to their nests.The bird, like other nuthatches, possesses a sharp black nail-like beak, which it uses to pound open seeds. It is a frequent visitor to feeding stations and is highly fond of sunflower seeds and suet cakes.

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© HJ Ruiz – Avian101