baby birds

You can usually tell the difference between the adult birds and their offspring by the wing fluttering and open mouth gestures... feed me!  other that that... the offspring are the size of the adults once they leave the nest.

i always find it interesting to watch the parent bird lead the young to the food source..trying to make those almost adults  self sufficient and fend for themselves.  does it work? well as the parent flies off the offspring usually follow! 

Monday, as i was watching an adult cardinal feed his almost adult offspring, i realized that the adult birds leading the young off into the world were male birds.  now while i cannot swear that it is always the male.. i definitely can identify the adult male cardinal and even the adult male house finch as being the one to shepherd the near adults into the world, away from the nest.

and just where is mom??   sitting on the next clutch of eggs???  I wonder.