Knowing that Tweeters have abundant knowledge of all sorts of birds, I decided to see if anyone has any ID suggestions about a bird we saw in Cappadocia, Turkey, a couple of weeks ago. I took a not-at-all good photo of the bird from the rear with the zoom on my point-and-shoot camera. The coloration of the bird is reminiscent of a western bluebird. It behaved a bit like a rock wren, bouncing around the tops of the chimney-shaped rocks and singing. It appeared to be smaller than a robin. We didn't see the front of the bird. The back was a dark blue-gray. The top of the head and the upper wing parts are bright blue. The lower underparts are light rufous red. The cheeks appear to be light. The bird was seen at the Goreme Outdoor museum where there were lots of people. I am thinking it is something relatively common, that adapts to people. I will be happy to forward the photograph if anyone would like to look at it.

If anyone has any idea what the bird might have been, please let me know. Thanks so much!

We were on a cultural tour, not a birding tour. We did manage to see a couple of life birds - the pygmy cormorant and a white-spectacled bulbul which a local guide helped us identify.

Judy Clinesmith
jaclinesmith at fidalgo.net
Anacortes, WA