My wife and I are fairly new at birding, and yesterday afternoon we were
driving the backroads of the lower Key Peninsula (Southwest of Gig Harbor).
In a small clearing near a weekend cabin we spotted a bird that was coming
and going in and out of the forest foliage to feed on the seeds beneath a
birdfeeder. Using our Sibley's Guide wasn't much help, but the bird was the
size and coloration of a female phasant. It had a pointed tail much shorter
than a phasant; more like a sharp-tailed grouse. The throat and neck were
slightly grayer than the rest of the bird, which showed the typical two-tone
brown of a hen phasant. There was a slight, white eye ring, some white on
the top of the head, and two faint, thin white stripes on the back which
started about half way down and stopped at the rump. Any advice or help
with identification would be greatly appreciated. By the way, nearby Bay
Lake sported two wonderful bald Eagles in second year plumage.

Rolan Nelson
Rolan.Nelson at nw.amedd.army.mil
Port Orchard, Washington