Wild Kingdom

The other day, we were waiting at a stoplight. It was warm that day, so the car windows were open. A little bird, no more than three inches tall, landed on the edge of the window opening on my side of the car, next to the mirror, and just stood there. After a few moments it tried to take off again, but didn't succeed and landed again.

It seemed like it was stuck, or unable to get enough velocity from its takeoff. (Maybe it was too breezy? I don't know that much about birds.) This pattern repeated ten or twelve times, with both of us staring at it the whole time.

The bird didn't appear to be injured or impaired. Eventually it managed to fly backward without also going upward, which seemed to give it enough momentum for a getaway, but it landed on the pavement right next to the car. Fortunately it hopped over to the curb before another vehicle came along in that lane.