Date: Wed, 13 Nov 2002 16:05:07 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Janet Millenson Subject: Salt Lick for Sparrows? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit On a residential street in Bethesda, I just saw (from a distance, no binocs) half a dozen House Sparrows clinging to a vertical brick wall and apparently busily obtaining something from its surface. It reminded me of watching squirrels lick at an exposed masonry foundation to get the salts that have leached out. Does that seem a likely explanation here? I couldn't find any mention of such behavior in the BoNA life history for these birds. (Attention Rick Sussman: Apparently House Sparrows "can swim when pressed to do so"! Maybe when an American Bittern is after them?) It seems kind of late in the season for the bricks to have been covered with insects or spiders. Janet Millenson Potomac, MD (Montgomery County) janet@twocrows.com ------------------------------------------------------------------ "Look at the birds!" -- Pascal the parrot ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================