I can see it as if it was in my backyard. Thanks for the sight and sound of a windstill summer midmorning.

Probably a Mountain Bluebird, Jennifer. Nevada state bird, huh? Well, it's Idaho's state bird, too! Problem is, I don't see them most years . . . We also have the Western Bluebird here. (And, I think that's more than Nevada can say. ;o) He's the little guy with some red on his breast. I think there has been a decline in the bluebird population because they like to sit in trees and swoop down and grab butterflies on the ground. One of our prettiest birds eats butterflies . . . I guess that figures? The problem is that trees with open ground around them usually have a house nextdoor. The house has a cat . . . Honestly, I doubt if the bluebird gets caught often by cats. I'm going to say that he's too smart for that but I'm sure that he is deterred from hunting in someone's suburban backyard because of the feline population. Did you know that there are an estimated 100 million cats in the US? I think that a Townsend's Solitaire is a real cool bird. They are gray but some of us are, too. . . You can find Solitaires in evergreen forests. Despite their name, I've only seen them in pairs. digitS' Here is a link that might be useful: cats . . .

Jeanner, I am glad that you caught my mistake on the Song Sparrow (not a chippie) I realized that I had typed Chipping, after I had posted. An of course there is no edit feature. Thank you. Bob

Great shots! The second one is a "keeper". I was raised in southern ILlinois and there are meadow larks there. I haven't seen meadow larks since coming to Wisconsin over 40 years ago, except during an occasional visit back to Illinois. I do miss them.