In regards to the bird photographed here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldcoachfoley/7450144354/in/photostream
I would argue against a House Sparrow juvenile as many of the plumage details are not displayed by either juvenal or adult House Sparrows. It appears to me to be a Society Finch, which is a domesticated bird. There plumage is highly variable, but it seems the most similar. Most likely someone's pet got out which would explain the lack of fear and the clumsy flying ability. Very nice find. Info on the species and a picture of a very similar individual can be found here: http://estrildid.com/society-finch/ Other similar individuals are pictured here: http://www.estrildid.com/images/Website_Photos/Society/IMG_5710r.jpg http://www.estrildid.com/images/Website_Photos/Society/IMG_8638.jpg Hope this helps. If anyone else has other opinions I'd love to hear them. I'm just guessing myself. Bill Blackburn Minnesota Audubon Warren, MN ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
