Fat songbird, dark above, light below. Dark-eyed junco with round black eye stands in a patch of grass

Wintering in Iowa: Dark-Eyed Junco

She’s lying in my hand, still, but whole. A beautiful little creature, expired for no obvious reason. Her wings are folded; her feathers are exquisitely soft. Her half-ounce weighs nothing in my palm. Her little round, acorn-size head with its cone-shaped beak lies against my finger.  Her legs are like little twigs, thin and bare. […]

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