House Sparrow

House Sparrows are everywhere all the time always forever. They live our airports, wal-marts, and apartment complexes. They're crafty, shrewd, and are probably better adapted to living on the street then amongst the trees at this point.
I hadn't bothered to photograph a House Sparrow yet, but this specimen seemed particularly clean-cut, so he was chosen among all the others to represent the vast House Sparrow empire.

Rufous-Crowned Sparrow

The Rufous-Crowned Sparrow has a darker back and darker wings than most of his cousins. They don't stray very far out of the southwest and aren't especially common, so it was nice to see one by the exit to the Desert Botanical Gardens. I didn't even have to do any work.
That being said, I didn't get great pictures either, and I'll be keeping a careful eye out for this rufous-headed rascal next time.
Apparently it's pretty rare to see them in the lower altitudes, and this was the first reported/documented sighting at the Desert Botanical Gardens, YAY.

 Here in the sunlight you can see the rufous cap, as well as the facial stripes and even the hint of a dark line running down the chin. These all help to distinguish the Rufous-Crowned Sparrow from look-alikes such as the Lark and Chipping Sparrows.

In addition to the rufous crown, you can see the peculiarly dark wings. Sparrows usually have a lot of mottling or streaking with white and lighter browns, but not this guy. The tail is similarly dark, but I cut it off in the picture...I know I know.

Great Horned Owl

The Great Horned is the third largest and most common Owl throughout North America. It seems kind of unusual for one of the larger species of birds to be the most common in the (owl) family, but then there's lots about owls that sets them apart from other birds. The "horns" are actually feathery tufts, and the owls coloration varies greatly by region.

Here are some fluffy Owlets almost ready to fledge.

The feathers underneath the beak of this second owlet make it look like the bird has a very creepy smile, as if he's contemplating all the mischief he will soon cause, or is thinking about eviscerating something with his Owl claws.