cynthia

Perusing the Wall of Birds, I found my favorite to be the Phainopepla. It looks like the literal dark horse of cardinals. Its call/song reminded me a little of that of the red winged black bird - slightly annoying, but also musical. I also like the notion that the Phainopepla’s behavior/patterns are still under question - the Jekyll/Hyde description caught my attention. I’m only seeing songbirds in my backyard at the time of writing: sparrows, finches, cardinals, robins (occasional junco). I pondered on the robin, however, wondering why it’s categorized as a songbird. Following the descriptions given in the course material, I would have called it a chicken-like bird - mostly because I only ever see them walking on the ground. Do chicken-like birds never perch? I wondered whether the characteristics of how birds look are weighted in some way to cause them to be placed in one category over another. I think my favorite neighborhood bird is the cardinal. They speed through the back yard with a streak of bright red. It’s attention-getting and cool. I enjoy their morning calls, too. They call to one another from across the yard and I enjoy listening to their conversation.