Thursday, October 5, 2006, 10:47 am
Hooded Mannikins
16-hour work days haven’t given me much time for birding this week, but I can still hear the Grey Shrike-thrushes sing and see Pacific Swallows out the windows. The other afternoon, soft, incessant calls alerted me to the presence of Hooded Mannikins (or Hooded Munias, Lonchura spectabilis) on the road outside, and I snapped a quick shot before a stray dog inadvertently scattered the tiny birds.
David J. Ringer
