While birding at Yates Mill Park in Raleigh, N.C. a few weeks ago, I photographed a skirmish between a female Northern Cardinal and a juvenile Song Sparrow.

It was an odd situation in that the Sparrow was not acting aggressively towards the Cardinal.
Rather, it appeared to be begging for food!

The Sparrow would creep up right next to the Cardinal and squat low fluttering it’s wings with its mouth open in a submissive stance.
Very strange behavior!
For her part, the female Cardinal was having none of it. She chirped at the smaller bird loudly and tried to bite it. Eventually she chased him away before setting back into the typical Cardinal floof-ball resting stance.

I’ve seen a ton of weird behavior in the years I’ve spent watching birds but have never seen different species acting like this (apart from parasitic behavior by Cowbirds).
Crazy!

Have any of you ever witnessed this kind of interaction between two totally different species before?

Photo by @sally_siko
Canon 5Ds