A Downy and A Hairy

The household has fallen into the usual December morning routine.  The alarm goes off and I turn over in bed 'cause the bed is toasty warm.  Whip will jump on the bed and begin licking my face if I fall back asleep.  She won't be deterred until we are out on our morning constitutional.  Once back in the foyer, I pick up the bird food containers and it's back out to fill the bird feeders.  Back inside again Whip stops at the corner of the kitchen counter where her treat jar sits.  We do a 'trick for a treat' sequence until she misses at a trick.   I grab a handful of cat treats and call for them.  Dunder jumps up the library shelves to where I usually leave his treats.  Blitzen leaps onto a pillow I have next to the computer where I put her treats.  She will eat and then settle down on the pillow to watch me.  I sign onto the computer and access an on-line Advent Calendar.  Breakfast can wait until I find an elusive elf and play the new game for the day.

It's not terribly useful when bird descriptions say something like "the species look identical except one is larger than the other."  Both species aren't usually together at the same time so a comparison can be made.  An exception was at my suet feeder today.  Both a hairy and a downy were there to feed.  The Downy is the smaller one waiting it's turn.  Also note that while in both species the male and female are similar in coloring, it's only the males of both that sport a red patch on the nape of their neck.