Subject: Backyard bird
Date: Jun 14 20:06:31 2002
From: Roger - r_craik at shaw.ca


Just a guess, Dale but it could be a female Black-headed Grosbeak. I just had
one pass through my yard today. A new Yard bird for me.

Roger Craik
Maple Ridge BC

Susi and Dale wrote:

> I've been seeing a bird at my feeder in the back yard which I can't
> identify. I'll confess here that there are a LOT of birds I can't identify,
> but not the ones in my yard. I am not in any way an experienced birder, so
> my description/observation probably won't be very scientific. Anyway,
> here's what I know:
>
> It was seen at my feeder which is on the edge of the forest. The few times
> I saw it, it was eating sunflower seeds. It spooks very easily, which is
> part of the reason I can't give a better description. When I tried to get
> closer it went back into the woods. This bird was a bit larger than a
> sparrow, and a bit smaller than a robin .... perhaps half way in between.
> The underside was a very pale yellow or brown, the back and head were brown.
> One key thing I noticed is that it's bill was large for it's size ... not
> long, more conical. The bill appeared to be dark gray. On the head were
> three black stripes. One above each eye and one down the middle. The eyes
> were dark, they looked black. I spaced out and didn't notice or remember
> what color the legs were. (sorry, my memory capacity is low and I didn't
> have a notebook handy). There was some very pale streaking in the zone
> between the yellow/brown underside and the darker brown backside.
>
> That's about all I can say. I have the National Geographic field guide, and
> I looked at every picture in the darn thing and didn't see one that looked
> like it. One picture that seemed fairly close was the female Black Headed
> Grosbeak. What I didn't like about that picture was that the stripes on the
> head of the bird I saw were much more distinct than the ones on the bird in
> the picture. Also there was a little more ... shall I say streaking ... on
> the back in the picture. The one in my yard had a more solid color pattern.
>
> Would anybody care to take a crack at it? I have not been birding long or
> hard so it could easily be something that would be obvious to a smart
> person. That's enough. Thank you in advance for your feedback.
>
> Dale Christensen
> Olympia Wa
> susidale at susidale.com