Hi Tweets,

John Chandler writes:

>While I was wandering around the old Cora Brown subdivision on Sea Island
>yesterday morning, I saw several Savannah Sparrows behaving like warblers
>in the flowering ornamental trees. The birds were hopping from branch to
>branch searching for insects in the flowers and new leaves.
>
>Haven't seen this before. I'm guessing this is a short-term seasonal
>behaviour that the birds developed because grasses have not yet produced
>seeds and food on the ground is scarce. Is this the case? Do other
>sparrows do this as well?

John, many species we think of as 'seed-eating' birds become predominantly
or wholly insectivorous, for the duration of the later spring, summer and
early autumn. Partly it's because there may not be much left after a
complete winter's foraging and they have to eat something until the next
year's seed crop matures. Also, once in migration and on the breeding
grounds their protein intake increases in response to the greater
energy-expenditures, fat-production and muscle-mass addition of
long-distance flight, egg-production, feeding of nestlings in their
protein-demanding accelerated growth phase, territorial defence, and
pre-migration molt.

Michael Price
Vancouver BC Canada
mprice at mindlink.net