{"id":53228,"date":"2018-07-26T05:02:37","date_gmt":"2018-07-26T11:02:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=53228"},"modified":"2025-04-24T05:32:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T10:32:12","slug":"lark-sparrow-with-droopy-wings-on-a-hot-summer-morning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/07\/26\/lark-sparrow-with-droopy-wings-on-a-hot-summer-morning\/","title":{"rendered":"Lark Sparrow With Droopy Wings On A Hot Summer Morning"},"content":{"rendered":"

In some domestic birds such as chickens or caged exotic birds such as parrots drooping wings can be an indication of poor health and cause for concern. Wild birds can have droopy wings that show ill health too or it can be a sign that the birds are hot.<\/p>\n

\"LarkLark Sparrow with droopy wings – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/2500, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week while I was photographing some Lark Sparrows in northern Utah I took images of this one who had droopy wings because the sparrow was hot.<\/p>\n

I was hot, I know how the sparrow felt. It was only 8:39 am and the temperature on my Jeep was already reading 87\u00b0F. Typically I don’t see temps that high until later in the day.<\/p>\n

At least I could turn on my air conditioner to cool off.<\/p>\n

This Lark Sparrow<\/span><\/a> wasn’t sick, it was just hot and by dropping its wings and holding them away from its body it was attempting to regulate its temperature.<\/p>\n

As temperatures climb here in northern Utah due to climate change I think we will be seeing more and more birds with droopy wings.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Lark Sparrow photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week while I was photographing some Lark Sparrows in northern Utah I took images of this one who had droopy wings because the sparrow was hot. I was hot, I know how the sparrow felt. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,1148,1465,26],"tags":[4004,4430,4372,6660,6662,3830,1655,1539,6661,855,4195,2315],"class_list":["post-53228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-lark-sparrows","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-barbed-wire","tag-chondestes-grammacus","tag-day","tag-droopy-wings","tag-fence","tag-hot","tag-lark-sparrow","tag-mid-morning","tag-sparrow","tag-sparrows","tag-summer-3"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/lark-sparrow-hot-mia-mcpherson-6125.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-dQw","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8592,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/14\/lark-sparrow-behaviors-and-a-grasshopper\/","url_meta":{"origin":53228,"position":0},"title":"Lark Sparrow Behaviors And A Grasshopper","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"It was great to get back out into the field yesterday and even better that there were some cooperative Lark Sparrows in my viewfinder.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Close up of a Lark Sparrow with a grasshopper on a rock, Antelope Island State Park, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-grasshopper-mia-mcpherson-8276.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-grasshopper-mia-mcpherson-8276.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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adult Lark Sparrow with prey on Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-adult-prey-mia-mcpherson-3556.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-adult-prey-mia-mcpherson-3556.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-adult-prey-mia-mcpherson-3556.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-adult-prey-mia-mcpherson-3556.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22283,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/04\/23\/lark-sparrows-have-returned-to-antelope-island\/","url_meta":{"origin":53228,"position":2},"title":"Lark Sparrows Have Returned to Antelope Island","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"For the past week I have been anxiously awaiting my first sighting of Lark Sparrows and yesterday I finally saw them.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Singing Lark Sparrow perched in Sagebrush in northern Utah.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-singing-mia-mcpherson-0956.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/lark-sparrow-singing-mia-mcpherson-0956.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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