(Printed with permission from Jim Conrad)
NATCHEZ NATURALIST NEWSLETTER
Issued weekly by Jim Conrad from the forest and fields
of the Sandy Creek Watershed 12 miles ESE of Natchez,
Mississippi
June 6, 2004
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BIRD, GRASS & YELLOW FLOWERS
Down at the field pond while perched inside the Black
Willow a modest commotion caught my eye across the
pond in the tall grass along the bank. My binoculars
showed that a small bird was snatching seeds from the
fruiting heads, or inflorescences, of some tall
grasses. Below the grasses, emerging from the shallow,
green water, an aquatic plant bore yellow blossoms
about an inch across.
Of course, this kind of thing occurs all the time.
However, on this occasion, the details of the event
were exquisite.
First of all, the bird was not just any bird. It was
an adult male Painted Bunting, the most colorful of
all North American songbirds. Blue head, yellow-green
back, red rump and breast, blackish and greenish wings
and tail suffused with red, black beak and red eyes...
There's a fine picture of one singing at
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