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Henslow's Sparrow (adult male)
Ammodramus henslowii
 
 
Copyright David Seibel, 2006 (#1006) | Send Comment

Camera: Canon EOS 20D
Exposure: 1/1000 sec, f/8.0, ISO 400
Lens: Canon 500mm f/4L IS + 1.4x II TC
Date: June 6, 2006
Location: Mill Creek Streamway Park, Johnson County, Kansas, USA

Description: Notice the "whitewash" of droppings on the plant. There are very few plants in this field sturdy enough to make a reliable singing perch (the grasses bend freely whenever a bird lands on them), and so this plant has been heavily used. For three hours this morning, this particular bird sang mostly from this perch, but it would make periodic flights around a small triangle that apparently constitutes its territory. Occasionally it would also interrupt its singing for a brief ruffling and reorganizing of its feathers. Only once did I see it take a few minutes to forage.