At this time of the year, many of the birds look chubby, like this Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) that I spotted on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. I suspect that the mockingbird’s appearance is caused by feathers that have been fluffed up for better insulation.
I wish that I could use that excuse.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Ha! I’ll use that on Tuesday. “No, I didn’t gain weight, I fluffed my feathers to stay warm,”
I used to feel overly sorry for the bird in winter, until I learned that what those feathers can do. Apparently they’re just fine, as long as they can find food — harder for the non-seed-eaters, of course. They surely are cute when they fluff up like that.
I’m going to just try that excuse, see what happens.