White-crowned sparrow

We always look forward to seeing white-crowned sparrows in the summer. This is one of the sweetest little birds, and you never see them gobbling sunflower seed at the feeder like the house sparrows and finches. I saw on the excellent Cornell Ornithology Lab website that the song of the white-crowned sparrow is the most studied of all bird sounds. It's interesting to ornithologists because the sub-species around the country sing different songs, but all with the same introduction: a sweet, whistling sound.

But they don't sound sweet when the alarm button gets pushed. The most frequently heard noise from white-crowned sparrows is a sharp, loud pink, made by males near the nest. I love all birds (except crows) but an hour of pinking is like Chinese water torture. I think they nest in the laurel hedge; every garden needs a messy corner for the birds. Our ex-cat Vino/Tabby/Tigger likes to laze around in the yard next door, so of course they see him, and set up the alarm.

There is special Providence in the fall of a sparrow.
Hamlet, Act 5 Scene 2