Roofs & Rambles

They are everywhere you go, zipping between bushes where the melt water has collected or in damp bog’s. Tom’s Finch (Melospiza lincolnii), better known as the Lincoln sparrow was named by Audobon in honour of his friend Tom Finch ‘who shot one’ for him!

Lincoln sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) singing in a bush

This delightful fellow was very accommodating singing from a willow on the edge of Steamboat Lake. He was loud and clear in the beautiful morning sunlight -  calling to all. I don’t know who rights stuff about birds on the internet. I have seen several references to this ‘drab’ bird. What is drab about this fellow?  He may not jump out at you like a Yellow-winged blackbird or grosbeak but he is tailored in more subtle finery. Like most new world sparrows, he has a charm that has to be appreciated. Mind you they are buggers – sparrows – it takes a lot of hard work to identify them. But when you do there is a real pleasure. And because you are really looking you get to see all the subtleties and appreciate the variety within the plumage.

Lincoln sparrow holds court in a bush, Colorado

I also like the way their tails kind of droops behind them when they zip between bushes, in a desperate rush to seek cover. Because they are quite secretive.

Lincoln sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii), Lake Steamboat, Routt County

I have seen them zipping about the green roof in Vancouver . (That makes them a star anyway!). I have seen them in Oregon, Alberta and Ontario and it is always a delight when I visit North America to see a Lincoln’s sparrow.

Give me a drab sparrow any day and if he is crooning to his heart’s content it even better.