Next time I see a Fox Sparrow I’m going to think of Teddy Roosevelt.
I like Fox Sparrows. They’re big and burly for sparrows. But their being burly has nothing to do with why I’m going to think of Roosevelt. He wasn’t all that big a guy, anyway; around five-eight and only heavy-set when he got old.
I like the Fox Sparrow’s thrush-like, streaky breast and rust color. These sparrows are prairie birds. I live near prairies in the Prairie State of Illinois. Land of Lincoln, as they say, but I’m thinking of Roosevelt.
This guy was our toughest president. Two-fisted, literally.
As a young man in the Dakota badlands he had an altercation with a drunken cowboy. The cowboy got in Roosevelt’s face and held a six-gun in each hand. He teased Roosevelt about being “four eyes,” something like that.
Roosevelt cold-cocked the cowboy. One punch. And got some respect in the badlands.
He was a big game hunter, and I’m not sure that’s really sporting, but it was a different era and people had different ideas about animals. He was also a bird watcher.
The first two-fisted birdwatcher.
His idea of spotting birds sometimes involved shooting them. That was one of Audubon’s methods of looking at birds, too. Times change.
But Roosevelt knew the birds by name. He even wrote a book about them. He was more than a bird watcher. He was an ornithologist.
Like all bird watchers, he didn’t miss much. Toward the end of his term in the White House, he was in the garden with his sister. As they talked, he picked up some tiny thing from the ground.
He held it between calloused fingers. It was a feather, presumably rust-colored and streaky. “Hmm,” he said, “very early for a Fox Sparrow.”
This isn’t a random comment to show that this guy was interested in birds. These were the final words of “Mornings on Horseback,” a National Book Award-winning biography by David McCullough.
They were powerful enough to end this 400-plus-page masterwork with a strong finish. I recommend this book. I also recommend knowing something about Theodore Roosevelt.
I’ll think about this tough old bird when I see a Fox Sparrow. Maybe you will, too.
Rough & Ready Teddy……… I have often wondered why his face is on Mount Rushmore. Timing? He was the head of the immediately extinct Bull Moose Party. In light of our current situation, maybe it’s a shame that it was swallowed up by history. To me, at least, he does not compare to the other Presidents carved out of that mountain. However, to his lasting credit, he did save a hell of a lot of real estate. So maybe it’s not such a bad idea that his bespectacled face is up there.
I’ll be sure to check out “Mornings on horseback” from my local library. Thanks for the tip. I’ve enjoyed the works of Jim Harrison and Edward Abbey.
Loved this. So glad I signed up.