Rebecca,

Did you get various looks at both birds, or are
you describing it just from the view shown in the
photo? 'Cause to me, it looks like an American
Robin with a branch shadow on its back. The eye
ring, body shape, and (occasionally?) forked tail
all fit. Of course if the black collar was really
part of the plumage, I would be wrong. Can't tell
from the photo what the breast coloration is.

Marc Hoffman
Kirkland, WA
tweeters "at" dartfrogmedia "dot" com

At 07:22 PM 11/25/2009, Rebecca Laszlo wrote:
>I was just in Denver, and out at Dinosaur Ridge
>in Morrison CO (within sight of Denver). I saw
>this bird fly into a tree
there were two of
>them. The altitude is 5500 feet, climate very
>dry, scrub brush and a few dry bush/trees. I
>cannot figure out what bird this is, even the
>family. Maybe you know? It was a bit bigger than
>a song sparrow, maybe smaller than a robin,
>somewhat olivine (greenish), with a very
>pronounced white eye ring that I could see with
>my naked eye, and a clear black collar much like
>a killdeer. The bill is very sturdy and to an
>even point with a slight upturn ? sharp as a
>pencil. I see the tail is something of a fork.
>This photo was taken with my little Lumix camera
>at 10x magnification, and this photo is
>magnified a bit so the resolution suffers
>slightly. But I think it should be identifiable
>by someone who knows the birds from the edge of the Rockies.
>Picture is at:
><http://cid-e394af2aa556657e.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Denver%20bird/P1030795-3X4Zoom.JPG>http://cid-e394af2aa556657e.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Denver%20bird/P1030795-3X4Zoom.JPG
>
>