tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27276563.post287621473433195591..comments2023-09-18T06:38:04.194-04:00Comments on Palemaleirregulars: Chipping Sparrow Dad and Little ChipDonegal Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09809720759418462703noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27276563.post-30268568599040819322007-07-16T22:37:00.000-04:002007-07-16T22:37:00.000-04:00Karen Anne,Very good question. Where is Mom most ...Karen Anne,<BR/><BR/>Very good question. Where is Mom most of the time? I've some theories but I truly don't know absolutely for certain.<BR/><BR/>First off, for those who don't know, Chipping Sparrows of either sex look alike. No handy color variation with these guys.<BR/><BR/>This morning there were two Chipping Sparrows tag team feeding Little Chip. As the two adults weren't doing the Chipping Sparrow dive bomb at each other and are feeding the same chick, I reasonably sure that the two adults are the mated parents.<BR/><BR/>Therefore Mom was on the job this morning. Now I'd also say that Little Chip is either the only surviving chick of the latest brood or he's the Tail End Charlie.<BR/><BR/>I noticed with the previous Chipping Sparrow broods that they came off the nest perhaps more widely spaced in age than some other passerines. Therefore if four or five chicks showed up with Dad, Mom most likely at that point was sitting on a new batch of eggs, the eldest chick would be already making attempts at feeding herself while the youngest of the brood would still be working on flying from place to place without mishap and making absolutely no efforts in the self feeding department. The other chicks would be at staggered rates of maturation in between. So Little Chip may be the last of the previous brood to go out on his own therefore Mom was helping out with him before starting to brood the next set of eggs.<BR/><BR/>I did notice tonight that after sunset Dad, with Little Chip most likely already full and roosting with Mom's help, was finally able to have a meal all to himself without having to disperse most of it, one seed at a time, to his progeny.<BR/><BR/>During the first broods of the season I didn't see Brown-headed Cowbird chicks amongst the young being fed in Chipping Sparrow broods. Though the Cowbirds must have been successful with some species as 4 or 5 juvenile Cowbirds began to appear at the feeders. They have since disappeared. Whether through dispersal or the predation of the local Cooper's Hawk I don't know. Though a neighbor saw the Cooper's feeding a fledgling hawk with a "young dark gray bird". Which might have been a Cowbird.Donegal Brownehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09809720759418462703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27276563.post-91898766880111716942007-07-16T07:33:00.000-04:002007-07-16T07:33:00.000-04:00Where is Mom, I wonder? Is it the Dad's responsibi...Where is Mom, I wonder? Is it the Dad's responsibility to feed fledglings in a chipping sparrow household?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com