My Wife and I were traveling from Chicago to Albuquerque via old Route 66 in our 2003 Monaco Dynasty.  On the way we stopped in for a visit at an old friends home in Springfield, Missouri. 

Bill & Dee were also big time “birders” and had been feeding hundreds of songbirds in their back yard from several feeders.  As we were having breakfast on the first morning of our visit we heard a loud thump on their kitchen window.  It’s not uncommon for birds to fly into windows especially when they are being spooked by a predator like a hawk. 

When we looked out the window to see if indeed it was a bird, we saw a white crowned sparrow lying on its back with its feet tightly clenched and eyes closed.  We all thought it was dead.

   White Crowned Sparrow in Hand

So I went out and picked the little fellow up and looked for some sign of life.  He seemed to shudder slightly so I lifted him up to my face and gently blew into his face to see if he would respond.  To my surprise he opened his eyes slightly and a tiny peep came out of his beak.

I then set him down on the cushion I was sitting on and he opened his eyes further so I began gently stroking him under his beak and on his back.  Suddenly he jumped up on my forearm and started looking around and getting his bearings.

 
White Crowned Sparrow Perched on Arm

After about a minute he took off.  Fortunately my wife had her iPhone and took some good pictures.  So I will always have a great story to tell about my “Close Encounter with a Bird Kind”.