Urban Nature Pictures day 10

[urbpan]

For the second time in a couple months, an unknown person has left a box of pastries on the sidewalk in front of where I live. House sparrows are enjoying the empty calories.

Comments

[weofodthignen]

IMO the pastries are intended for the homeless; either first come, first served or via some kind of "second harvest" operation. Those drops of buns and pastries are particularly likely to attract rats, but that's the only way some well-meaning people will do it. At least it prevents human injury from dumpster-diving. If the stuff is still appearing, you might call the local food bank - it's just possible they are actually requiring food to be left on the street in an open box.

I like house sparrows. But the ones here are a sad inbred reflection of the ones at home in England, where they are solitary gleaners with visible intelligence and courage. When one feeds the pigeons or ducks in England, a single sparrow will suddenly dart in to grab what someone missed. Here they flock, and are scared of venturing outside the flock. They also seem smaller and less fat. I understand the US ones are all descendants of one or two pairs brought in as part of someone's project to give the colonies every bird mentioned in Shakespeare? Or is that a myth, and it's just what you mention in the entry, a policy of British colonists' importing them everywhere because they were thought beneficial as well as nice?

M

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[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I thought that maybe the pastries were intended for humans, but there aren't really any homeless people wandering my street, nor are there any nearby bakeries. it is a bit of a mystery.

The European starling is in the US because of the Shakespeare fans. The sparrows are here just because the Brits liked having them about, and because they thought they might control farm pests (they don't).