I saw a bunch of different kinds of sparrows outside on my way to work this afternoon, and, of course, the usual contingent of foraging robins and starlings. Birdsong filled the air, and I had no idea what any of it belonged to, but it was nice to listen to.
But another bird, much larger and seemingly flightless, skittered across my path, directly in front of me, and then swiftly away from me, almost before I had a chance to see it, and it startled me: I had to stop and turn around to look as it hurried away across the grass, making its frantic, anxious pip pip pip sound. I think (not 100% certain, but am pretty sure) it was a northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). Wow.
