I have a couple of mystery birds up my sleeve. Here’s the second one.
Keep in mind that it’s harder to identify a bird from a still photograph than it is when you see it move. Behavior, posture and eating habits are huge clues to a bird’s identity.
However, this bird has several characteristics that help identify it. Notice…
- The size and color of its beak
- The size of the stripe above its eye
- The brown patch on its face
- Its brown wings and odd wing bars
- The faintly striped beige area around its neck
- The fluffy look of its head.
What species do you think this is? Can you tell anything about its age and sex?
Let me know.
(photo by Marcy Cunkelman)
He has a finch look to me.
Could this be a rose-breasted grosbeak, female?
Based on the eye stripe and the size and shape of the beak, I’d make my best guess that of a juvenile rose-breasted grosbeak.
Juvenile rose breasted grosbeak?
I think it is an immature rose-breasted grosbeak.
The beak is a key factor! (although the other markings help a lot too)
I will go with immature Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. They live on my property and the males are absolutely gorgeous! They always make me smile when I see one.
Marcy always takes such great pics! 🙂
Yes, it’s a juvenile rose-breasted grosbeak. I’m at Marcy’s house right now. She says thanks for the compliment on her pictures … and that juvenile is all grown up. Maybe I’ll see it.
My initial inclination was a grosbeak, but then I said, nah, that looks like a finch…the beak isn’t big enough. And I even have pictures from a month or two back I took of some female grosbeaks over in Schenley Park…pictures that I got back home and went through the task of identifying which took entirely too long considering it was hanging around the easily spotted male! I can be so dense!
I at least guessed right that she was a juvenile. She’s a little too fuzzy. I considered it might be molting, but the fuzz on the back is way too downy.
Oh well, maybe next week! I like these “ID the bird” posts. Almost as fun as Friday Anatomy lessons.
Definitely a fuzzy-wuzzy RBGB! Anyone who has ever handled one in the hand looks at that beak with instant trepidation. Ouch!
Here’s another vote for the “ID the bird” posts!
It seems to me that Rose-breasted Grosbeak’s are in abundance this year — anyone else feel that way? Last year I thought that Eastern Towhee’s were in abundance, and they don’t seem to be this year. Of course, this is largely based on birding by ear while taking a few walks between the buildings at work in Cranberry Township, so my sample is limited. Wondering if Marcy has noticed a shift in birds up there in Indiana County…
I am seeing more RBGs coming to the feeders this year. The males were very “tame” compared to previous years…maybe they were last years kids that remembered me. Same with the Hummingbirds….this is the best year having great numbers since we moved here in 11/01…I don’t know if it’s just because the habitat gets better each year or if there are more birds…I know the more I plant, the more I see in the way of birds and butterflies and other critters…I have been trying to catch up on things here, but if you would like to visit, I am closer to having people stop over…I got a call from the local 4-Hers who are having summer camp, and want to come back here again to look at plants….last time it was for bugs…and it was a bus full of kids…pretty cool to hear them say….”now this is a real garden.”
immature female RBG for sure. We have more this year than ever. we are seeing as many as 10 at a time at our feeders. We call the males our Tuxedo Birds (all dressed up in their black and white tuxes complete with a bright red cumberbun)