Death of a Sparrow

    

Sparrow (© Evan Lipton)

    It was a peaceful, beautiful day in Austin. The temperature was in the low 80’s, not hot at all by Austin standards. I had just moved back to Austin the week before and had decided to visit a vintage furniture store on North Loop called Room Service that I used to frequent my first time living here a few years before. I was walking up Duval street in the Hyde Park neighborhood not really thinking about anything. Two sparrows were flying in unison with each other. Right after they flew in front of me and attempted to fly across the street, one of the birds was hit by a car coming down Duval Street.
    The bird that got hit seemed only inches behind and below the other bird. The driver’s side front end, right by the headlight is where the bird met its end.  There was a thud and the bird was thrust approximately 15 feet ahead. I watched it roll over very quickly on the side of the road. The last roll seemed rather dramatic as the bird’s wing stretched out above, almost as an appeal for mercy before it finally came to a stop, all its breath gone.
    I felt sorrow as I looked upon the dead sparrow. I’ve never seen a bird get hit by a car before but as I thought about it, I figured it happens all the time. I also felt sorrow for the other bird who continued on. Had this been a mate, parent, child or sibling. I’m sure it’s part of a sparrow's life, from the time they hatch, to be taught and cautioned about all the different prey that awaits them: cats, owls, electrical lines and cars. I thought about how the other sparrow must have felt deep sadness. I know I’m anthropomorphizing the sparrow but I’m sure it felt something towards sadness and that sadness was felt by the other birds of their flock when that sparrow returned alone.
    As I continued to walk up Duval, I couldn’t help but think of the randomness of it all. It was just a matter of seconds. Had the birds flown straight instead of in a semi circle before they flew across the street, the bird would have cleared the car. Or had the driver started their car a few seconds later, the birds would have been across the street by the time the car arrived at the site of impact. 

If only.