Ordinary Beauty as seen by Leila Anasazi

Little Brown Bird goes free.

She’d spent a couple of days/nights in the cage. It was killing me to have her confined, but she was so weak initially and if she was loose, death-by-raccoon, or cat, was certain.

But yesterday morning she was lively. Chirping (for the first time) and leaping back and forth and back and forth from one perch to the other, and then onto the top wires of the cage.

It was clearly time to let her have bigger options.

So we waited until the sun was a little higher in the sky and the world was a little warmer, and then took her cage to the deck, opened the door, and thought Good Thoughts.

In seconds she was out. And, off.

No flying really, mostly hopping about. We kept “encouraging” her to fly, by moving close to her and hoping she’d take flight from a little fright. But, no.

Her friends came to visit–the dozen or more other house sparrows that live here–and they all pecked at the ground. When one thing or another startled them, they swoosh off together, but Little Brown Bird just lingered, hopping about on the ground.

“Well,” we told ourselves, “she’s certainly happier roaming free for now. She’d probably rather a short life free than a long life in a cage.”

Later in the day she sort of took flight now and again. No grand soars, but small journeys of 3-foot height and length. We decided we’d try and capture her again later and let her spend one more night in the safety of the cage. But when “later” arrived and we tried to net her, she escaped us. With a tiny soar she took cover in the thick laurel bush, and we admitted again that she was likely happier free than captured.

We hoped she might find a safe and warm sleeping place, and went about our evening.

I am happy to report that she did make it through the night, and while she’s still not flying really, she looks quite content (and sweet) hopping amongst her friends.