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Subject:

A roosting mystery

From:

Frank Powers

Reply-To:

Frank Powers

Date:

Mon, 4 Apr 2005 15:11:32 -0400

For the last two weeks (at least), we've had a bird come to roost every evening with clock-like regularity, at about 6pm (now 7pm, DST), on an exposed beam supporting the small roof/canopy over our front door.  The "beam" is just a two x six, so the bird kind of snuggles in tightly, tucking its head down.  After it's been there a while, it doesn't get excited if we go in and out.  It stays put until some early hour in the morning, when it leaves.

It's a male House Sparrow, which makes it more unusual, as we have several dozen of the things roosting out back in a neighbor's jungle-clump of bamboo.  Why would this one bird go off by itself every night?  And pick a rather exposed location for its nightly rest?  If it doesn't like the noisy companionship of the rest of its species, I could understand that.  Still, it does seem a bit unusual.

Anybody else observed behavior like this (not that I'd expect anyone to pay particular attention to a House Sparrow)?

Frank Powers
Glen Echo, Montgomery County
frankpowers at comcast.net