Yesterday, while on my exercise walk along the swale next to the Cornell
Plantations parking lot, I flushed a small flock of CHIPPING SPARROWS.
This surprised me for two reasons. One, I haven't had this species at
my feeders nor seen it elsewhere for the last few weeks. The biggest
surprise, however, was when one of the startled birds landed in a small
tree right next to me and sang briefly. After a short phrase, it fell
silent. Why would my flushing the bird elicit this sort of response?
A few days ago I experienced presumably another example of this
phenomenon. When a CAROLINA WREN began singing one of its songs in our
yard, another distant CAROLINA WREN responded with the identical song
right on the heels of the first bird's song. They kept up this exchange
for 30 seconds or so, and with only a brief pause in responding by
either of them. I realize that these wrens will sing throughout the
year, but why the rapid singing back and forth in response to one
another at this time of year? Do they compete for territory/mates
throughout the year, or was this just an unusual example of autumnal
recrudescence?
Larry
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W. Larry Hymes
120 Vine Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
(H) 607-277-0759, w...@cornell.edu
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