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paulkienitz

paulkienitz

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I did NOT get a picture, dang it!

But anyway, this bird was dark olive-green on top of its head, and this was bordered with blackish streaks above the eyes. I think it had a brown back with short lengthwise pale streaks, and a spotted breast. I've looked back and forth through my Sibley book and can't find anything like such a color combination. Any ideas?

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K10D, Sig 17-70, DA 55-300, FA 50/1.4 "Billy Bass", M 400/5.6 "the Great Truncheon"
 
OK... seriously, I think even a hard-core expert may need a little more info as the poster above stated. How big was it? Kinda sounds like some type of sparrow... but I guess you have ruled that out. Mainly how big was it, where abouts do you live, and just a little more description.

And the absolute best thing is to look up birds native to where you live and that may be migrating and passing by.

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jamesm007,
http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z77/jamesm700/
WSSA member 266PX
 
cedar waxwing ?
 
suprjeff said:
cedar waxwing ?
Click to expand...
It was definitely not a cedar waxwing. No crest, the black stripe was well above the eye, and the back and breast were spotty or streaky.

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K10D, Sig 17-70, DA 55-300, FA 50/1.4 "Billy Bass", M 400/5.6 "the Great Truncheon"
 
It was songbird-ish, size somewhere between a sparrow and a robin, probably closer to the former. It was on a branch in a patch of deciduous forest.

My girlfriend thinks it was just some common sparrow with unusual individual color variation. But almost every sparrow I look up consistently features a prominent white stripe around the eye, and that was conspicuously absent.

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K10D, Sig 17-70, DA 55-300, FA 50/1.4 "Billy Bass", M 400/5.6 "the Great Truncheon"
 
I'm now thinking (girlfriend too) that it may have just been a fox sparrow with an uncommonly dark head.

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K10D, Sig 17-70, DA 55-300, FA 50/1.4 "Billy Bass", M 400/5.6 "the Great Truncheon"
 
...and based on the identification of the other birds it was in a group with, it's a white-crowned sparrow. It just has a very strange definition of "white".

 
I am indeedy... midway between San Francisco Bay and Mount Diablo.

Upon further looking-upping of both types this seems like an equally iffy match for either one. The golden crown is usually much lighter yellow, but I guess this cold be wthin the range of variation. On the other hand this could be a white-crowned with first winter plumage. I tend to lean toward the latter because there were several other white-crowned sparrows in the group around it.

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K10D, Sig 17-70, DA 55-300, FA 50/1.4 "Billy Bass", M 400/5.6 "the Great Truncheon"
 
Hi again.

The only way the bird in your photo may be a White-crowned is if the bill is orange or pink. It looks dark to me, indicating a Golden-crowned.

Smithsonian Birds of N.A. specifically says -"Forms winter flocks with other species, especially White-crowned Sparrows" - so it fits with what you're seeing.

When it comes down to it, though, I prefer to lump all sparrows in one category - LBB - little brown birds. ;)
 
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