Independence? Not yet!

I looked up from supper to see this white crowned sparrow family, three youngsters and a hard-working parent, getting their own meal outside my window.

Waiting his turn

The chicks are as tall as their mother.

When the mother's back was turned, the chicks kept busy picking up seeds and eating them. As soon as she came close, though, they immediately became helpless, and stood waiting to be fed. Little con artists!