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never saw this bird!

14 years ago

Hi, I live in Ohio--the other day I saw a bird in my

back yard (quite a ways back) he was dk. grey, with a little darker grey head,beige

breast and a white band around his neck. He was at least the size of a black crow, for the distance.

He sat and ate for a while, really odd. I didn't get a pic. Thank you in advance!

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Comments (9)

rachel_frome_ky
14 years ago
I checked your MyPage but couldn't find your location. If you live out west it could be a Lewis Woodpecker
mimilm
Original Author
14 years ago
hi rachel, I'm from Ohio--thank you for your answer-I did a search on the L.woodpecker--close, but not it-
thanks!
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bandjzmom
14 years ago
Hard to know without a pic, but part of your description reminds me of an Eastern Kingbird. It isn't the size of a crow, but size can be deceiving from a distance.~~Angie
mimilm
Original Author
14 years ago
hi Angie,
I wish I had a pic. I checked out the E. Kingird, and it's close, but not it. Someone else thought it was a banding
pigeon. The odd part is they shouldn't be in Ohio!
Thanks for your help.
Marti
bob414
14 years ago
Band-tailed Pigeons are quite large but not quite as large as a Crow. I see them in California but it would be out of it's range in Ohio. However, you never know. Here's a picture of one outside my window.

{{!gwi}}
mimilm
Original Author
14 years ago
hi Bob,
Nice pic. that would be real close to what I saw. The
bird looked about the size of a crow-it would be odd for
it to be in Ohio, but you never know is right.
Thank You.
feather_z9_ncacoast
14 years ago
I sincerely doubt you saw a Band-tailed Pigeon in Ohio. They're not capable of flying over two huge mountain ranges to get there. The only way it would be possible, I guess, is if a zoo lost one (assuming there are zoo's near you that have a flock, that is). That being said, I am curious as to your description because you said "dk. grey, with a little darker grey head, beige breast and a white band around his neck."

I wonder if it might have been something else? Am thinking more along the lines of the Eastern Kingbird, as has already been suggested....but a crow-sized bird with that description sounds a lot like a magpie (which isn't normally found there, but would be more acceptable for the area than a Band-tailed Pigeon)...or perhaps even a Sharp-shinned Hawk, which can look very dark in shadow (it was at the back of your yard, correct?)....or even another raptor, such as a Merlin or even a Peregrine Falcon.

A Lewis' Woodpecker isn't crow sized either and wouldn't be found that far east.

A *Pileated* might be, but you said nothing about anything red on the bird.....

Hmmmm The mystery deepens!

I sure hope you can get a photo of it if it shows up again :)
mimilm
Original Author
14 years ago
Hi feather, thank you for your suggestions. I did a pic search on the 2 birds, and the Peregrine would be close, but not quite. The mystery bird was about 120' away, daylight, and was in good view eating-nice side view. He did have a white ring around his neck. Haven't seen him since, just one time--enough to cause a stir here--lol!
I checked out your pics -very nice--nice to see water!
Thank you all....
calliope
14 years ago
In the last few years I have seen a number of birds with a patch of white feathers, not normally associated with their species. Some sort of mutation with splotches totally devoid of pigment.

My husband has a good eye for birds, and it flips him out each time he sees one with a white patch but it looks like a familiar bird, and I tell him what it is, and he argues because of the patch of white not found in bird guides. A white streak or band cannot be counted on of itself for an I.D. because it can be an aberration. You'll have to look at the other landmarks for identification in those cases.

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