Distraction Displays: Mass Breeding Bird Atlas 2

Interim Report #223: House Sparrow

“There’s a special providence in the fall of a sparrow.” – William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Today is indeed a providential day, for it marks the end of the Interim Species Reports.  We hope you've enjoyed them, but don't think that this is the end of the fun!  Tune in Monday for some all-new content here on Distraction Displays.

Ten thousand years ago, according to fossil evidence, House Sparrows could be found living in what is now Israel.  It’s entirely likely that this species has lived alongside humanity in their farms and homes since the rise of agriculture itself in the Fertile Crescent all those millennia ago.  Alternately praised for its humility, dismissed for its vulgarity, adored for its cuteness, and reviled for its pest habits, there can be no doubt that mankind has long ascribed special providence to the House Sparrow.  In Massachusetts today, one can hardly step outside without encountering one in most places.

Interim Report #222: Evening Grosbeak

“A bird of the most distinguished appearance, indeed, is the Evening Grosbeak, whose very name of ‘Vesper-voiced’ suggests at once the far-away land of the dipping sun…” – Elliott Coues

The Evening Grosbeak is occasionally seen in the late afternoon hours, but this bird is actually most active during the early morning.  Its name stems from an early encounter with the bird by a Major Delafield of the US Boundary Service, who disturbed a roosting flock while setting up his evening encampment.  A large and handsome finch, Evening Grosbeak has expanded its breeding range significantly in the past 150 years.  Now a well-known customer of feeders across the state, this species is also finding a foothold as a breeding bird in Massachusetts.

Interim Report #221: American Goldfinch

“They ought to put out the eyes of painters as they do goldfinches in order that they can sing better.” – Pablo Picasso

Putting out the eyes of goldfinches (or people!) is unquestionably a barbaric practice, but the so-called “Wild Canary” of the Americas has long been admired for its sweet song.  The bright yellow breeding plumage of the male only enhances the bird’s appeal, making it a favorite visitor of backyard feeders and birdbaths.  From the shores of Nantucket to the high Berkshire hills, American Goldfinches can be found breeding just about everywhere in Massachusetts.  For all its delicate appearance, the humble goldfinch is a tenacious survivor.

Interim Report #220: Pine Siskin

“The pine stays green in winter…wisdom in hardship.” – Proverb

Pine Siskins follow the example of their namesake tree and weather the storms of winter with patience and fortitude.  Like the crossbills, Pine Siskin is a boreal finch which spends most years comfortably sequestered in the coniferous forests of Canada and the northern United States.  Every now and again, some change in the cycle of seed cone production brings Pine Siskins to Massachusetts during the lean winter months, and some birds may remain to breed in spring.

Interim Report #219: White-winged Crossbill

Cross my bill and hope to fly.

The trees may seem to speak as a chorus of dry, mellow chit notes emanates from a thick stand of spruces on a lonely mountainside.  Seconds later, a cloud of pink birds rise as one on black-and-white wings to forage elsewhere, embarking on the next leg of the eternal journey that defines the existence of the White-winged Crossbill.  Like Red Crossbills, these birds are infamous wanderers throughout northern North America.  Not until very recently, though, have their wanderings brought them to our humble Commonwealth to breed.

Interim Report #218: Red Crossbill

“They call me the wanderer, yeah the wanderer, I roam around around around…” – Dion DiMucci, “The Wanderer”

Birds are, in many ways, defined by their relationships with their food.  Perhaps no group of species exemplifies this effect better than the crossbills.  Uniquely adapted to prying open closed conifer cones and extracting the seeds inside, crossbill populations are nomadic, irruptive, and show a significant amount of variation even within a single species.  The Red Crossbill is the most common breeding species of crossbill in Massachusetts, but one may have a better chance of predicting New England weather than predicting where and when a Red Crossbill will show up.

Interim Report #217: House Finch

“Okay, you caught me.  The finches were a bad idea.  And I wasn’t gonna say anything, but I think some of them may have salmonella.  A fair amount, in fact.  I may have inadvertently poisoned your children.” – Phil Weston, Kicking & Screaming

Some invasive species come from across the sea, but others are transplants from right here in the USA.  Such is the case with the House Finch, a typically western species of rosefinch which found its way east through the pet trade.  Now breeding in the wild, this highly adaptable species is experiencing widespread success and had become a familiar face in most populated areas around the state.  Unfortunately, the success of the House Finch may come at a price to our native species.

Interim Report #216: Purple Finch

“I won’t eat any cereal that doesn’t turn the milk purple.” – Calvin, Calvin & Hobbes

Purple may not be the healthiest color in your breakfast cereal, but the pale red-violet hue of a male Purple Finch’s feathers comes from a diet rich in carotenoids.  Purple Finch is a common and well-known nester throughout the northern forests of the Americas.  Purple Finches breed in a variety of different habitats throughout the Commonwealth, and for once, habitat loss may not be the biggest threat to this species’ welfare.  Rather, the Purple Finch is currently embroiled in a struggle for territory with a recent newcomer – a struggle it appears to be losing.

Interim Report #215: Baltimore Oriole

“To hear an Oriole sing / May be a common thing, / Or only a divine.” – Emily Dickinson

The whistled caroling of a Baltimore Oriole delights the ear during the spring and summer, when these handsome birds return to Massachusetts for another breeding season.  Baltimore Orioles are so named because their orange-and-black plumage recalls the heraldic colors of the Barons of Baltimore, who were the proprietors of colonial Maryland.  Baltimore Orioles have made themselves quite at home alongside humanity throughout the eastern United States, and Massachusetts is no exception.

Interim Report #214: Orchard Oriole

“No orchard’s the worse for the wintriest storm’ / But one thing about it, it mustn’t get warm.” – Robert Frost, “Good-bye, and Keep Cold”

Warm weather brings hungry wildlife to the orchards of New England, and among the assembled species perches the diminutive Orchard Oriole.  Scarcely larger than a House Sparrow, Orchard Orioles quietly roam open areas with scattered tree cover in search of insects and fruit to eat.  Although it is less common and less well-known than its cousin the Baltimore Oriole, Orchard Oriole seems to have found for itself a comfortable home in the fragmented landscape of modern-day Massachusetts.