White-throated Sparrow by Maggie Rodriguez

Hearken to the chicken on this mural!

Painted: 9/15/2025

Concerning the Mural: On this mural by artist Maggie Rodriguez, a White-throated Sparrow flies in to perch on a vine of native Virginia rose. As a part of the Audubon Mural Project—a public-art initiative drawing consideration to birds which can be susceptible to extinction from local weather change—NYC Parks’ Artwork within the Parks program and NYC Parks GreenThumb labored with the Nationwide Audubon Society, Gitler &_____ Gallery, and native artists to design murals in neighborhood gardens throughout the town. By means of a collaborative course of between the companions, artist, and backyard group, every mural was designed to characteristic climate-threatened birds in addition to native plants that birds depend on for meals and shelter. By creating vibrant city inexperienced areas, neighborhood gardeners present important help for birds and folks. Discover extra murals from the collaboration here.

This mural was created with Phoenix Gate Community Garden, a inexperienced house in Jamaica, Queens. Backyard director Carlos Bolanos says when he first moved to the neighborhood, the lot was in disrepair, however over the previous few years, neighbors have come collectively to revitalize the house. At the moment, it’s a flourishing neighborhood hub that provides folks an area to reconnect with nature and study abilities corresponding to revolutionary gardening strategies and woodworking. It additionally has change into an area birding hotspot, because it affords meals and shelter to native and migratory species. “This can be a secure haven for a bunch of birds that we haven’t seen on this space for a very long time,” Bolanos says. 

Concerning the Hen: The White-throated Sparrow—with its distinctive black, white, and yellow head markings and candy, whistled music—affords a well-recognized sight in jap woods and thickets. The birds are inclined to forage collectively in giant flocks, hopping alongside the bottom looking for seeds and bugs—a communal strategy that resonates with the backyard house, Bolanos factors out. “They excel in communities of their very own, and that matches rather well with what we’re doing,” he says.

At the moment, White-throated Sparrows stay widespread and widespread, although the birds appear to have declined in current many years. Local weather change poses additional threats: If warming continues at its present tempo, the species is projected to lose 88 p.c of its present summer time vary, in response to Audubon’s Survival By Degrees report. Taking motion to restrict warming will help guarantee these sparrows can thrive on a wider vary of habitats into the long run. In the meantime, preserving pockets of inexperienced house like neighborhood gardens—and populating them with native vegetation—affords essential areas for birds to relaxation and refuel.

Concerning the Artist: Maggie Rodriguez is a New York Metropolis-based artist and counselor. Although she was born within the metropolis, Rodriguez was raised in Colombia, the place her mom is from and the place she gained an appreciation for connecting with nature. Her work as a counselor has additionally impressed upon her the significance of inexperienced areas for psychological well being: “Individuals ought to be out extra and getting their palms soiled,” Rodriguez says.

For her backyard shed mural—the primary mural she’s executed, after primarily working in smaller-scale artwork and design—Rodriguez selected the White-throated Sparrow to represent resilience and the Virginia rose to characterize pioneers. “To me, it symbolizes all of the households arriving right here searching for a greater future,” she says. The artist hopes her mural will assist welcome extra folks into the backyard house and remind them to understand the character round them. Rodriguez herself has a smooth spot for metropolis birds like sparrows and pigeons that are inclined to get taken with no consideration. “Individuals simply get used to them,” she says. “They don’t understand that you simply’re sharing house with this different creature that makes issues stunning.”