No longer a Mystery Bird

From this angle, I wasn't sure what this bird is. A thrush, maybe, I wondered.


But then, later in the day, he came down and sat in the Japanese maple. I still wasn't sure, but then in his virtually nonstop preening he flashed those wings and I almost guessed (his tail is so short though) before suddenly an adult showed up.


He's a very young mockingbird, and he's stretching, preening, getting his adult feathers in order, and waiting to be fed. An adult flies up and pops something into his mouth every so often.

Birds of North America (subscription) says that fledglings leave the nest able to run, and then climb into shrubs after a couple of days, only able to fly after 8. This guy must be able to fly a bit, given the height of that callery pear he was in, and that means it's dad feeding him, while mom tends the next nest and eggs.



Stretching like a cat, almost





And dad shows up.



He was there all day. Here are a couple of shots from nearly sundown - the one of him getting something to eat is blurry but I'm posting it anyway. :-D