[Leica] Birds Week 12

[RicCarter]

I just read this this morning, from Birding in North Carolina on facebook.

So info on this colr variation:

Soon, the White-throated Sparrows will leave North Carolina for their breeding grounds in New England and Canada.
With their cheerful calls sounding out over the fields, it’s been lovely to have them here for the winter.
They are nice looking birds with that stripe pattern on their heads dotted with a spot of yellow between their eyes and beak.
Interestingly, the White throated Sparrow comes in two different color morphs of stripes on their heads, white or tan.
* The first photo in this post show the white striped color morph, the second shows the tan striped one.
Though they look different from one another, they’re indeed the same species of bird. That being said, there are some noticeable behavioral differences noted between the two color morphs.
Studies have shown that though they aren’t the best parent’s, male White striped sparrows will sing louder and more frequently to attract a mate, breed with several females per season and also are more aggressive about defending their territory against rivals and predators.
 The tan striped males tend to be quieter, less aggressive birds who happen to be more nurturing parents since they share in the feeding of the chicks with a single chosen female which may lead to greater success rate of nests long term.
Considering these differences you’d think that the species would struggle to do as well as a whole.
Yet, White throated Sparrows of both color morphs are indeed thriving. 
But how?
As it turns out, opposites attract.
In fact, females of either morphs prefer to mate with the tan striped males whereas the males of both color morphs prefer to breed with the white striped females.
Though this scenario makes for a complicated dating situation for sure, (lol!) it is through the process of preferential mate selection by both color morphs that the characteristics of weakness and strength cancel each other out to create a stronger single species. 
It’s a neat example of the balance of life.

ric



> On Apr 3, 2021, at 3:18 PM, Don Dory via LUG <lug at leica-users.org> wrote:
> 
> Thank you for images of the white banded sparrow.  I have been trying to
> identify that bird but it is out of range for my part of TX so couldn't
> find it.
> 
> On Sat, Apr 3, 2021, 8:43 AM RicCarter via LUG <lug at leica-users.org> wrote:
> 
>> Birds of week 12:
>> https://2021.cartersxrd.net/2021.04.02x.html
>> 
>> Ric Carter
>> www.home.CartersXRd.net
>> http://www.facebook.com/ric.carter
>> 
>> -the world’s mosst careless typist-
>> 
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