The goldfinch looks at the sparrow and says, “I don’t know about you, but I’m here for the tweets!"
I got help with the punch line from Bing AI.
Here is a goldfinch (Spinus tristis) and chipping sparrow (Spizella passerina) together on a branch. Well ... I don't think that they are "together," but they are on the same branch.
@birdcounter
You know, the photographs that I post here are not quite a vivid as the same photographs that I post at my pixel's gallery, because here, I reduce the size of the photos and usually make a slight reduction in the quality of the photos to make them easier to load.
The focus is on the tree, where the sparrow used to be. The sparrow started to fly leaving me with mud in my eye. It doesn't matter, I like it anyway, a bird and its ballet.
When I let Ben and Charlie out this morning, a cloud of chipping sparrows (Spizella passerina) rose from the ground and flew away. So here is a pic of some sparrows. It's not a good composition, but not completely boring either.
"Particularly in fall and winter, watch for small flocks of Chipping Sparrows feeding on open ground near trees. In spring and summer, listen for the male’s long, loud trill, then look for the male in the upper branches of a nearby tree." - allaboutbirds.org
This little chipping (Spizella passerina) sparrow looks dubious or maybe angry. How would you describe the look on the bird's face?
I'll likely be showing many pictures of these birds because there are a lot around right now.
"Chipping Sparrows mainly eat seeds of a great variety of grasses and herbs. During the breeding season they also hunt for protein-rich insects, and these form a large part of their summer diet. Chipping Sparrows sometimes eat small fruits such as cherries." - allaboutbirds.org
This photograph caught my eye. It looks peaceful. The small bird in the center is a chipping sparrow (Spizella passerina). Hmmm ... I guess this is a sparrow day, the last photo I posted was also sparrows. Anyway, the lighting wasn't great when I took this picture, but I like the way the autumn leaves show up in an otherwise nearly photo of silhouettes.
"You’ll find Chipping Sparrows around trees, even though these birds spend a lot of time foraging on the ground. Look for them in grassy forests, woodlands and edges, parks and shrubby or tree-lined backyards. Chipping Sparrows seem to gravitate toward evergreens in places where these trees are available. They also use aspen, birch, oak, pecan, and eucalyptus trees. In the mountains, you can find these birds all the way up to tree line." - allaboutbirds.org
There are actually several feeders in my backyard. At certain times of the day, they are mostly visited by chipping sparrows (Spizella passerina), but as seen here, Carolina Chickadees (Poecile carolinensis) still come by. Along with a few other species. Cardinals visit a lot but lately they visit just before dawn and after dusk, so I only see their shadows.
Every time I see one of these little chipping sparrows (Spizella passerina) with their camouflage face and little red feather top, I think of army camouflage. It gives the little birds a tough look. There were hundreds of these little birds around during the winter and early spring. Now, I only see a few foraging on the ground now and then. I read that they switch their primary diet from seeds to insects in the spring and summer.
Diet
"Mostly insects and seeds. Diet varies with season. In summer, feeds mostly on insects, including grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, leafhoppers, true bugs, and many others, plus some spiders. Also eats many seeds, especially in fall and winter, including those of grasses, weeds, some waste grain." - https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/chipping-sparrow
I thought that this chipping sparrow pose was interesting. Unfortunately, it was almost dark outside so there was very much noise in the photograph.
There was another sparrow to the right that I wanted to include in the picture but because the noise was so bad, its head just kind of blended with the bird seed behind it and any AI I employed just made it worse. The missing sparrow had its beak wide open as if squawking something in protest.