Thank you all for such a quick response to my query. Now that you point it
out, I can see that this is a female Brown-headed Cowbird. I should have
noted the finch-like bill. I think I was looking for more streaks on the
breast that show up in several of my field guides. Anyway, this is the
first one I've seen since I started birding again, so I'm excited to have
seen this. Little Sammy (6) has been asking me when we would be able to see
a cowbird on one of our family birding trips and now I can give him the news
that he's seen one! I think he's fascinated by the parasitic aspect of this
particular bird, but he also asks about it when we see cows in a field.

Again, thanks for the help.



Sam Tooley

Tacoma, WA

tooleys at comcast.net



Other birds we saw today between 3:00 and 5:30 at Theler:

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Song Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Black-capped Chickadee

Crow

American Wigeon

Bufflehead

Canada Goose

Common Merganser

Green-winged Teal

Mallard

Pintail

Great Blue Heron

Rufous Hummingbird

Turkey Vulture

Common Yellowthroat

Orange-crowned Warbler

Mourning Dove

Killdeer

Greater Yellowlegs

Pine Siskin

Barn Swallow

Tree Swallow

Robin

Brown-headed Cowbird

Red-winged Blackbird

Marsh Wren