Picture of the day for May 4, 2020

Today is the National Bird Day in the United States. This individual, a Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus malaccensis), is an adult male from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In the North America, a population of about 15,000 birds has become established around St. Louis and neighboring parts of Illinois and southeastern Iowa. These sparrows are descended from 12 birds imported from Germany and released in late April 1870 as part of a project to enhance the native North American avifauna. The American population is sometimes referred to as the "German sparrow", to distinguish it from both the native American tree sparrow species and the much more widespread "English" house sparrow. Click here to visit the photographer's gallery. Click here to view more pictures of P. montanus.. Learn more.