[va-bird] Re: Harris's Sparrow still in Wyers Cave

To those interested in a sidelight of the Harris's Sparrow saga, I'd like to 
share a personal observation.

When I lived in South Dakota some years ago, I had many Harris's Sparrows visit 
my feeders, especially in Fall, Winter, and early
Spring.

Almost invariably, they were Immature birds. What I notably remember is that 
the immature Harris's were never seen with adult birds.
They were always hanging around with other species, e.g. Juncos, White-throated 
Sparrows, House Finches, Purple Finches, etc.  I
NEVER saw them in the company of adult Harris's, and I never saw adult Harris's 
at those times of year. It got to be a phenomenon
that I recognized on a typical, yearly basis.

My hypothesis is that (for whatever reason), the adults ostracize the young 
birds until they "look like us" - i.e., until they get
their full adult plumage. Don't ask me why.

Sound crazy? Well, maybe, but that's what I've observed. I thought I'd share 
this to explain a possible scenario as to why this
particular bird showed up where it did - amongst a group of similar, but 
not-the-same species birds.

Sorry to see that some people have missed it. I hope it hangs around and you 
get another chance! It is a beautiful treat for VA.

Jon Little
Winchester

----- Original Message -----
From: Patricia <larnersky@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Yulee Larner <larnery@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, April 22, 2002 8:20 PM
Subject: [va-bird] Harris's Sparrow still in Wyers Cave


> Hello all
>
> This evening I visited the Houff's to see if the Harris's Sparrow was still 
> around . At about 6: 30 pm the bird made a brief
appearance before the neighbor's dog scared it away . If you plan to go please 
call the Houff's at 540 -- 234 -- 0494 to see if the
bird has been seen that day . I do not know how long this bird plans to stay 
but it has already been a little over 2 weeks since its
discovery . Other birds seen in my non birding day are listed below.
>
> Ring -- billed Gull -- 55 --  which 40 were at AMC this morning & the rest at 
> the Staunton Mall
> Herring Gull  -- 3  at AMC
> Caspian Tern -- 1 -- At AMC
>
> Bells Lane had 1 Am. Avocet  , 1 Greater Yellowlegs ,  3 Lesser Yellowlegs , 
> 4 Ruddy Duck , 3 Green -- winged Teal & 2 Am Wigeon .
>
> Happy Birding to all  Allen Larner
>
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