I have a remarkable bird story - without any idea how or who to share it with. So I thought I'd give this a try.

Back in March, I noticed a Junco in the bushes near my house that appeared to be injured. It was struggling along on the ground with one wing fully extended. I contemplated attempting to help it. However, having had a few no-so-good experiences with attempting animal rescues in the past, I decided against it.

About three weeks later, I saw the bird again. This time it seemed to be getting along better. It still extended its wing from time to time - apparently to stabilize itself as it moved through the grass feeding. Two days later, I saw it for a third time - this time I had my binoculars. It was then that I realized that the bird had only one leg.

Over the next couple months, I saw the bird quite frequently. I was impressed with how agile it became in dealing with the loss of the leg over time. It flew with ease, of course, but landings - especially in the early going - were frequently something of an adventure. As time passed it became more and more adept at landings and with foraging for food - using the wing for stabilization less and less.

Around mid June, a couple weeks passed without any sightings. And then one morning I saw the bird again. I was pleased to see that it was still OK. But I noticed two things: It seemed to have regressed in terms of its ability to cope with the lost leg. It stumbled much more like it had in the early days. And, it struck me that its coloring now seemed less vibrant than it had earlier. The head was not black as before, but rather a medium gray. As I watched it stumble about and wondered about the color, a second bird flew in from the tree above and landed a little awkwardly next to the one on the ground - complete with one leg and a rich dark black cap. So there they were: Two Juncos. One male and one female. With just two legs between them. What are the possible odds?

I still see them fairly frequently - him more often than her..... and occasionally the two together teetering around in the grass.


Thanks
Rex Carleton
Woodinville
mailto: rxcc at quidnunc.net