I know there are some bird watchers on the 'cat. I thought I was pretty good at identifying Nova Scotia birds myself. But this afternoon, Tommy caught and killed an enormous sparrow, which has all the markings of and looks exactly like your typical White-Throated Sparrow, little yellow head spots and all. Oddest of all, he didn't eat it, and he generally eats everything except shrews (but the only birds he's ever caught at all were Juncos, of which we have hundreds just in the backyard).

I've checked my Peterson's, which gives them a six and a half to seven inch length. This fellow is a good eight inches, even dead with his head sorta sunk into his shoulders. The difference may not seem like much, but it's the WTS equivalent of a man being over seven feet tall. It's big-bodied, not just long in the tailfeathers.

Anyone else ever noticed particularly large for their species songbirds? Or have I misidentified the poor creature and there is a WTS look-alike I've missed, perhaps a stray I'm not familiar with? It's the right time of year for strays.