talking about sparrows

i love sparrows, they have been my favourite city dwelling birds for as long as i remember! i might as well add here that i find pigeons annoying (can't stand the guttural sounds they make non stop) and crows well i think they have a lot of character (i'm even a bit scared of them...why i will tell you later). so coming back to sparrows, the tiny birds i adore! i like the female ones as they are paler , slightly shorter and much cuter than their male counterparts (the males have an identifying black beard just below the beak). twittering sparrows remind me of winter/summer holidays, a time when i could watch them for hours, trying to build a nest behind the drain pipe on the first floor of our house! those were happy days. there used to be many sparrows and squirrels atop our clothes line then. and today i wonder where all the sparrows have gone? i don't see them anymore. did i leave them behind somewhere as my city grew from new delhi to NCR? did i forget about them..yes i did. i spot an occasional sparrow here and there online in a letterpress card or a wallpaper. they make wonderful silhouettes.i feel sad as i remind myself that they also are wonderful little real birds twittering atop the clotheslines in someones house where someone has time to look at them.above illustration by fiona hamilton

almond sparrow print by jenna lou

print by birds and swings on flickr