house sparrow.

messages from the birds, brass mailboxes, and other things.

“We are all tenants on the earth, which is our temporary home.”

- Deborah Levy, Real Estate

Recently, on a walk home from dropping my youngest child off at pre-k, I was stopped in my tracks by a house sparrow. The bird was blasting its call over the sidewalk with such ear splitting intensity that I felt compelled to turn and see for myself the irascible neighbor making such a racket. It’s not really fair of me to characterize the bird this way—I’m not an expert on the psychology of house sparrows, for one thing, and for all I know, her penetrating call was a sign of cheer not chagrin. Still, to my untrained ear, the sound was decidedly more of a warning than a warble.