Today I had just finished my lunch and was sitting at the kitchen table when a tiny bird perched itself on my windowsill: it had bright yellow feather with a black head and wings and an orange beak. I had never seen such a bird before in our neighbourhood. I took a good look so that I could try to identify it online later.
I cleared away the dishes and then I heard our black cat, Midnight, scratching at the front window. I looked into the living room to discover that the same yellow bird I had seen moments before was perched on the front windowsill. Midnight was perched on a chair, her hind legs on the arm and her front paws scratching at the glass, her tail wagging, her mint green eyes as wide as saucers. Rather than flying away, the bird just remained on the windowsill, staring at the cat. It would hop to and fro, poke its beak into its fur, and then hop some more. Midnight would wait patiently for the bird to return to her side of the window, and then pounce again, only to be stopped short by the glass. This ritual went on for about ten minutes.
Finally, the bird flew away. The Sylvester & Tweety Show was over, at least for the time being. I filled up the watering can to water the front garden. When I opened the door, guess who was perched on the screen?
P.S. Later I googled "yellow bird with black head and wings" and got the response, American Goldfinch. It is state bird of New Jersey, Washington and Iowa. So what is one doing here in Ontario? And why today? I asked Rob when he got home and he suggested that maybe the bird was cold and was rubbing up against the glass to get warm. That's it! This morning it was only 3 or 4 degrees Celsius. The goldfinch ended up sticking around for most of the afternoon.
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