Monday, February 10, 2014

His eye is on the sparrow

The white-throated sparrow is a wintering bird for Louisiana. I saw this one at my favorite nature center the first week of January. They prefer to feed on the ground at the edge of forests or brushy areas. Some birders describe their call as "Poor Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody." Although they look nothing alike and aren't particularly related, the white-throated sparrow and the dark-eyed junco will sometimes mate and produce hybrids. More cool facts about this bird may be found here. Collective nouns for sparrows are: crew, flutter, quarrel, meinie, and ubiquity of sparrows.




When Jesus is my portion
A constant friend is he
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know he watches over me
His Eye Is On The Sparrow hymn. Lyrics written in 1905 by Civilla D. Martin.

Song history by Civilla Martin:
"Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle—true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle's reply was simple: "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me." The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" was the outcome of the experience."

Ref: Matthew 6:26 and Matthew 10:29-31

39 comments:

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Now that's FAITH. I love this sweet hymn.

The Cranky said...

What a lovely story behind the hymn!

An ubiquity of sparrows...I'm quite taken by that Gail, and I'm sure Dixie would approve as well. ;-)

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh Gail I LOVE your photos and the story and words of Mrs. Doolittle. Beautiful. Hug B

Betty Manousos said...

good morning gail, what a sweet story behind the hymn you shared today.
beautiful photos, too. ooh, sparrows always make me smile!

hope you have a great week ahead~

big hugs~

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

Your photos of the sparrow are absolutely beautiful. It surprises me to hear of the cross mating between two different species of birds. I think that's pretty rare in God's creation; and, generally, when cross breeding occurs, the offspring is sterile.

Kim Stevens said...

Morning Gail, interesting stuff here...a Junco and a Sparrow, wow! I'm sure there is a metaphor in there somewhere, God is pretty good at that!

Beautiful photos of these sweet birds!

Optimistic Existentialist said...

I love the little yellow speck of yellow on his head :)

rainfield61 said...

And now, I am the sparrow, and the sparrow is me.

Shug said...

Good Morning....
Perfect photo with the teeny tiny seed in the Sparrow's mouth...
Such a beautiful song....beautiful hearts that the Doolittle's must have had...and to think of the million's of people that have been touched by those 6 little words..
"His Eye Is On The Sparrow"
Enjoy another cold day..
shug

Shug said...

I almost forgot the other six little words.... "And I know He Watches Me."
Shug

TexWisGirl said...

perfect shots of this beauty. had no idea they'd crossbreed with juncos. neat!

Stephanie said...

What a story of faith! Your photos are perfect with these words. Thank you for this uplifting and refreshing post, Gail.

Hugs to you!

Karen said...

Cute little guys. We have some at the feeders that didn't fly south. Beautiful photos!

hootnonny said...

Sweet little bird, almost hidden except for the yellow markings. Would the result of the cross breeding be Spuncos or Jarrows or...

Anonymous said...

Nice shots of this sweet little sparrow.

Starla said...

I'm really surprised you were even able to spot this little guy. It seems to me that they are pretty well camouflaged!

I love the background story on the hymn also! I always love learning facts like that!

Bas. said...

geweldig om hier bij stil te staan.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful little Sparrow indeed. I love that hymn.

Debbie said...

So interesting, I love these little ones and those pretty yellow eyebrows!!

Anonymous said...

Indeed, hie watches over the little sparrow. I don't know that I would be so cheerful about being bedridden, however. Thanks for the update on one of my favorites. They winter here also.

Ela said...

Lovely photos of the sparrows
Greetings

maryaustria said...

These are wonderful photos! These sparrows are little beauties! Great!

Ruth Hiebert said...

This Sparrow shows up here in spring and again in fall. I love to see them around and listen to their songs.

Suzan said...

If the little sparrow didn't move - you would never know he was there!!
Guess What Gail!!
I'm heading down to your neck of the woods :-}}
Danny and I are going on a cruise out of NO with my sister from Boozer City and my 1st cousin from Illinois.Atlanta is about to get hit with another ice storm, so school is closing and we are taking off on Tues. to get south of the ice storm. Then drive on in to NO on Wed. We set sail on Thur. Never been on a cruise!! A bit nervous!! Never been to Mexico either!! look forward to getting away :-}}}}

eileeninmd said...

Pretty shots of the White-Throated Sparrow. They are sweet birds, I love their sounds. Have a happy week!

Michelle said...

Love how you matched the photo with the song.

Anita Johnson said...

What a pretty little bird...I haven't heard that poem in years. Perfect!

Anvilcloud said...

They sound like a neat couple.

Jeanne said...

Sweet story. Your bird photos are amazing I scrolled back and couldn't stop. Excellent!

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

That is a beautiful story. Love the pictures!

renae said...

Oh Gail! Oh Gail! Beautiful post; I loved the story of the hymn inspiration. Marvelous. It touch me.

(hug)

You know what, your comments always make my day!!! You are a good person and I'm thrilled that we are friends.

and btw; I love the way that this sparrow is camouflaged while hunting down dinner. awh.

Melissa said...

That's interesting to know because I see juncos and sparrows together at my feeder all the time. I'll have to figure out what kind of sparrows they are.

Anonymous said...

The humble sparrow - so unassuming and pretty! Lovely shots.

Anonymous said...

Sparrows are so easily overlooked for the more flamboyant birds, but they are truly beautiful. Thanks for helping us get to see and know them better, and thank you so much for the lyrics and background of the song!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I had absolutely NO idea about that hybridization ... did not even know that ever happened. Just shows to go you!

EG CameraGirl said...

Nice shots! Believe it or not, I took photos of a white-throated sparrow here in Ontario just a couple of days ago! This has been a weird winter. ;)

Pallavi said...

Such a beautiful sparrow. I haven't seen one in such a long time, it felt good to see it here :)

Unknown said...

What a wonderful post. Such a great story. And you know I LOVE your photos.

Hugs~

Anonymous said...

Elmira, NY isn't far from me. Love when I find connections to the Catskills.