House Finch

I had a day mostly off work yesterday, so I took the Nikon D3500 artillery piece with it's 200mm telephoto lens out into the backyard to shoot birds. We've got a pair of bird feeders right next to each other, each stocked with with the same food, but one is much more popular than the other. I suspect the perch on the unpopular one is a bit uncomfortable for little birdy feet.

In any case, I was rewarded by the photo below, which I found charming. It's a male house finch, Haemorhous mexicanus. He's quite the noble fellow.

During courtship, the male will touch bills with the female. He may then present the female with choice bits of food, and if she mimics the behavior of a hungry chick, he may actually feed her. The male also feeds the female during breeding and incubation of the eggs, and raising of the young, and the male is the primary feeder of the fledglings.

A tip of the Catican cap to this fine, upstanding example to males of all species. Well done, sir.

I left the photo large, so it might be worth a click. Enjoy!

I can't tell you why, but I loved the expression on his face.