Bird On Rock or Stone
Feathered friends in the garden this last week perched on rocks or similar, who visited me of late?
African firefinch (Lagonosticta rubricata) foraging under a bush looked at me without moving, as if stating this is my spot, my breakfast she definitely was finding exactly what she wanted on the stone wall.
Earlier during last week the male companion on the feeder taking seed, much more dashing in bright red plumage.
Cape Wagtail (Motacilla capensis) bobbing above shyly cleaning up in morning sun, readying itself to tackle the lawn finding brunch, most likely second round of food for the day.
The Mossie or Cape Sparrow (Passer melanurus), a regular visitor throughout South Africa with a lovely story revealed here.
As the story goes, Afrikaans women who were imprisoned in British concentration camps during the second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), chose a verse from the Bible for encouragement. The third largest and probably most gruesome camp was Bethulie in the Orange Free State. There the chosen theme was Matthew 10: 29-31. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
After the war the survivors sent a petition to General Jan Smuts. The brave women asked for the emblem of a sparrow to be emblazoned on the lowest coin to thank God for having survived the war and to remind all men and women of their true worth in God’s eyes.
In 1923 the South African Reserve Bank issued the first South African Union coin bearing two sparrows on the obverse. Cape Sparrows later also adorned the Halfpenny and from 1961 to 1964 the half cent coin of the Republic of South Africa. From 1965 the pair of birds occupied the reverse of the 1 cent coin until it was taken out of circulation. Thus, through a verse from the Bible, the Cape Sparrow gained prestige and became a symbol of love but also forgiveness. Cape Sparrow
Small bird with a wonderful story!
This week you captures BIRD ON ROCK/STONE with @nelinoeva on 66th #SMAP contest!
All photography is my own. Any queries or requests please drop a comment below or make contact with me, have a wonderful day! Photography without tripod, go with the flow wherever life takes you. NB: Amateur photographer and bird watcher, keep smiling!
Thought for Today: "Though the sky belongs to the bird it can't fly when it's raining." - African Proverb
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