BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?

Subject: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: Bee
Date: 08 Sep 08 - 04:41 PM

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.

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 Sep 08 - 11:05 PM

This is just the beginning. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: Bee
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 12:02 AM

I am afraid! I'm picturing really large eagles, fer example. Hungry Eagles.

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 12:19 AM

Huh, I thought maybe it would be a white crowned sparrow, but it looks as though they are about the same size: click.

Did you get a picture of it?

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: CarolC
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 01:46 AM

I couldn't find any kinds of sparrows that get more than 7 inches in my Golden Guide (North American birds). I even looked to see if there were any other birds that were closely related to sparrows that look like White Throated Sparrows, but bigger, and I found nothing. Maybe an answer could be had if the body was taken to the nearest University or something. If so, I hope it will be posted here.

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 02:26 AM

This is probably a first contact situation and hordes of aliens will now attack for cat treatment of their ambassador. With luck they may identify the cat as the ruling species to which to be hostlie, and the humans as mere servants and pets of the cats...

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: Ernest
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 07:11 AM

Sparrows are often attracted by horse manure.

With such a big sparrow there must be a really big heap of shite close by....

;0)
Ernest

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 08:10 AM

I think what you have is simply a miraculous white-throated sparrow. It's probably been hanging out with scavenger birds and feeding on roadkill that's been flattened until it's come to resemble the visage of some holy person. Eating the beard from a roadkill Jesus will make a common songbird grow to a good 25% above the average size for its species. How do you think vultures got to be so big?

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 09:23 AM

From your description, it sounds as though it could be a female Red Wing Black Bird. They look a lot like large sparrows, at times.

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 10:52 AM

I'll bet that's it, HiLo: Female Red Wing.

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: bobad
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 10:59 AM

I don't think the female red wing has the yellow head spots.

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: GUEST,HiLo
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 11:01 AM

Yes, it seems to fit the description , dosen't it ? I know they havebeen mistaken for large sparrows. Too bad the cat got her as they are not as common as they once were. I have not seen one for ages, males either for that matter. But we are, unfortunately surrounded by development and some birds are not as common as they used to be.
Hope we find out for sure as I am now very curious.

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: Bee
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 12:04 PM

I didn't get a picture, because my camera batteries were dead - and then I completely forgot. I went looking this morning and now can't find the evidence - not surprising, as there are lots of hungry critters around. I know I should have kept it in the freezer for a day or two - but it was already ant-ridden when I looked at it and realized what it was.

Hilo, that was a good call, and I almost thought you were right. But the blackbird hasn't the yellow spots and there's the stripy breast as well.

I remember seeing some foriegn lark in a birdbook once that looked like a WTS, but I haven't had any luck searching larks.

I suspect it was just an abnormal sparrow - birds must sometimes be affected with giantism, like other animals, surely?

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: olddude
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 01:12 PM

Bee
was it a swamp sparrow perhaps? I don't know where you live so I don't really know


swamp sparrow

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: Bee
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 01:26 PM

I live in Nova Scotia, olddude, and have seen the little Swamp Sparrows locally. There are a lot of coastal wetlands, marsh, and upland bogs here. Not my specimen.

Right around where I live, on a small lake, there is a lot of spruce, fir, bogs, and an admixture of hardwoods like maple and birch. There are lots of birds. This summer I saw and heard more thrushes and veerys than ever, and finally saw a rare (for here) wren. Lots of woodpeckers, loons, eagles, osprey, owls, mergansers, herons, ducks, sandpipers, kingfisher - it's been a good bird watching season.

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: CarolC
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 02:43 PM

Swamp Sparrows only get to about 5", anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: EBarnacle
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 03:13 PM

Don't limit yourself to local types. We are in migratory season.

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: Bee
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 03:16 PM

I love the internet. A couple minutes poking around revealed that it is possible for birds to have gigantism, which unfortunately is not a good thing. And here is a parrot with the condition.

http://birdwhisper.wordpress.com/2008/04/01/loki-has-gigantism/

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: maeve
Date: 09 Sep 08 - 09:58 PM

Bee- Did you have time to read the comments on that page? That particular example was an April Fools joke.

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: GUEST,http://birdwhisper.wordpress.com/
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 12:24 AM

Thank you for linking to my blog. We had fun doing that post. My dad and I worked for a couple of weeks on getting just the right pictures to exaggerate Loki's "condition".

You made my day.

Birdwhisperer

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: Bee
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 01:36 AM

Ah, shoot! You did a good job, BW - that's what I get for being in too much of a hurry.

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: GUEST,Janie
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 03:23 PM

I'm wondering, Bee - did you measure the length of the bird? I think dead birds sometimes look larger than they do alive. Also, from poking around on the net, White-throated sparrows apparently hybridize with other birds, including other species of sparrows and with juncos. Maybe it was an eagle-sparrow hybrid? - nah - the physics don't seem to work;>)

Subject: RE: BS: Giant Sparrow - birders identify?
From: Bee
Date: 10 Sep 08 - 03:57 PM

I used my handy-dandy retractible fabric measuring tape, Janie, and if anything, under-measured the length, since it's head was a little sunk into it's shoulders and I didn't feel up to stretchin' it out while shoeing away the ants.

I think the biggest sparrow around here is the fox sparrow, and this bird actually looked more robust, if not longer, than a fox sparrow.