h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've often thought that the birds in my area operate under the assumption that we are running a bird sanctuary. There are so many berries and rosehips and grapes growing here that the birds cold get fat just by eating them, but we also have people who keep their bird-feeders full.

I'm too lazy to have a bird feeder, but my sunflowers and Echinacea come up every year and make lots of seeds. Any birds who are willing to feed themselves will be well-fed.

Speaking of the photo itself, I have sometimes watched the way birds fly, single file, between one tree and another. They are clearly organized in some way. Are they plotting against us, or against our cats?

I see entropy at work here.

Apparently sparrows have a sense of personal space as well. This seems logical for a species relying on flapping limbs about for survival.

Our garden also acts as a sparrow sanctuary. Lots of places to hide, breed and feed.

Spread out for yoga....

We get lots of sparrows, too. They're a friendly kind of bird.

Many decades ago in China, it was decided that sparrows were too bourgeois, so they had to be killed. Probably they were suspected of eating too much of the grain crop. Whatever.

poor sparrows

I'm with Tav. Sparrows are lovely birds.

Used to have a sparrow's nest in the wall cavity, just two feet from my bed (head side). They provided quite an accurate alarm clock in spring. There are worse sounds to be woken up by.

Yes - I much prefer them to the local firehouse siren.

Ironically, sparrows are doing better now in China than they are in England.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/naturestudies/nature-studies-by-michael-mccarthy-the-sparrow-that-survived-maos-purge-2068993.html

For the record, there used to be a sparrow nest on the underside of my porch roof

I remember in our first apartment under the roof we had a raven for a while that would wake us at sunrise by loudly clattering on the roof and making raven sounds.

Was there an abattoir nearby? Ravens are notable for being first on the scene when an animal. dies.

They had their nests in the large trees at the other side of the street.