During the dead of the winter, it’s sometimes difficult for me to find birds to photograph. The birds seem to be using common sense when it’s cold, gray, and windy outside and take shelter to stay warm. At times like this, I pay more attention than usual to the details of the birds that I do manage to photograph, like this White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) that I observed last week.
At first glance there is nothing particularly special about this sparrow. As you look more closely, though, do you notice the silvery gray of its bill or the yellow lores? What are lores? I don’t know many technical terms about bird anatomy, but several years ago I learned that the lore is the region between the eye and bill of a bird. I love the beautiful shade of brown of this bird’s eyes and its little white “beard,” with a few spiky dark hairs sticking out from its chin.
Yes, it’s “only” a sparrow, a bird that you may see so often that you don’t even notice it, but I challenge you to take a closer look and you may lose yourself in the beauty of the sparrow details.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I agree…sparrows have beautiful marking. I also love they are often quite tame and have adapted to begging for crumbs around cafes etc.
When I first started taking pictures of birds, I dismissed sparrows as “little brown birds” and didn’t give them a second look. Since then, I have gained a greater appreciation of their beauty, though I still have problems identifying many of the separate species.
That’s a really beautiful shot. I like birds that sit still long enough for me to get a look at them so I’ve always liked sparrows.
Thanks, Allen. Very often, my favorite shots are the simplest ones, especially in terms of composition.
love it!
My husband’s favorite bird, Mike! I know they are visiting you now, but they spend their breeding season in the north country of NY and up into Canada. There is something wonderful about waking up in the middle of the night and hearing this bird singing his plaintive but beautiful song. We live for it every spring! I have heard Chickadees at night as well, but not nearly as often as the White-throated Sparrow. When they are in full breeding plumage, the yellow lores really stand out and the browns and whites brighten right up. They really are quite beautiful. Thank you for showing us a winter version of a very special little bird!
Nice description and photo to show it. Thanks. M 🙂
Thanks for bringing our attention to details about the sparrow. Real good.
Oh how lovely! Wonderful detail. Interesting to see the little variations in the species from around the world 🙂 Certainly no yellow lores on any of our sparrows. It’s a lovely flash of colour!
I quite agree with you about the beauty of the modest little Sparrow!
Beautiful shot… I love the texture/colour of the bird and the limpid, pale blue background, too.
Thanks, Pierre. Sparrow tend to spend most of the time in the underbrush and I felt lucky to catch one on a tree branch with such a nice, uncluttered blue background.
The beauty is in the detail
Amen.
Super!