Gandalf
(Zonotrichia albicollis, white-throated sparrow)

His long white beard is a sign of neither wisdom or age yet he wears it proudly, conjuring seed gleanings from even the poorest soils. Off-key exclamations echo happily, too spontanious for songs yet too melodious for cries. Spells, perhaps, cast beneath wild black brows streaked with yellow. Charms for a safe migration, prayers to keep house sparrows at bay, cantrips for warm weather to bake off the evening chill. We will miss him when he vanishes over the summer, taking his battles to far-flung lands, before reappearing once more as if by magic or resurrection as the halcyon days grow short.

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