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Mystery bird to us all

sharingsunshine

13 years ago

We were at Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet, SC (coastal) and saw a flock of what I thought was cardinals, commenting how unusual it was for them to all be together, even the red males (we had been walking for 5 hours so blood sugar was dropping :-)

The birds were feeding in groups on the ground in grass near old rice plantation fields.

When I got my photos on iPhoto I saw that the females I'd taken photos of were not cardinals. Thought they were tanagers but they seem to have black face with yellow under its neck, plus the beak is different. I've looked back and forth in my bird books and don't have a clue what it could be. Neither do the friends I've emailed.

Anybody have an ID? Thank you so much!

Photos:

http://donnawatkins.smugmug.com/Travel/South-Carolina/Brookgreen-Gardens/16392726_hndUz#1233939024_yXH7M-A-LB

http://donnawatkins.smugmug.com/Travel/South-Carolina/Brookgreen-Gardens/16392726_hndUz#1233939488_m2Fta-A-LB

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Comments (4)

john_colorado
13 years ago
That's a common yellowthroat. Beautiful bird.
John
alan_la
13 years ago
No question about it, a Male Common Yellow-throat, They like to be near water.
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Hi Grant, Wanted to respond to your message and give an update...it's been a while since I've been here! Anyhow, I ended up taking the seeds out of my bird-house so now it's just an 'ornamental' bird house. The great thing is, the finches still come around just to check but it's not the bombardment that it was before...it's just the right amount. In fact, they seem more fixated on my sunflowers these days than anything else! Good on them! As for the hummingbird feeder, it's already out and next to my Chinese Pistache tree...and guess what? Today I was looking out my front window and saw a pretty green hummingbird take a sip from the feeder! He dashed in and out pretty quickly but it was still very exciting...I hope he will be back! What I'd really love to see at some point is a Cardinal, or a Stellar's Jay. But I have a feeling those are a bit harder to attract...I'll have to do some research. The only time I've seen a Cardinal was when I visited Boyce Thomson Arboretum...I can't even remember what it sounded like but it did have a unique chirp. The one I saw was a brightly colored male and he was in a thick, leafy tree. Sadly, he flew away quickly when he saw me approaching. Anyhow, I'll keep you posted for sure if I find any better seed varieties!
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This really gets us down into the nitty-gritty of finely detailed plumage differences. I ruled out female Rose-breasted Grosbeak: the bill is too small, brown cheek patch not large and prominent enough, iris not big enough, brown on throat (rather than the white throat of the female RBGR), white upperwing bars are actual bars (whereas as the female RBGR shows white spotted bars). Female RBGR also show a more defined white supercilium. RBGR don't show pink legs. The bird in the photo looks the part of a female Purple Finch.
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That's it!!! :) Thank you for your help, I appreciate it.
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bandjzmom
13 years ago
Wow. Cool bird. Would be a first for me.
sharingsunshine
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you soooo much! This is a new bird for me. I must've associated the size of the red birds on the ground (cardinals in my mind) with the size of this one in the tree. How cool! Yippee! Thanks for letting me know what it is. I've been looking for 60 new adventures in my 60th year of life (an idea I came up with to avoid thinking about the age). Many of the new adventures were new butterflies last fall, but this is a great addition for a bird adventure. Y'all know your stuff!

Here is a link that might be useful: 60 New Adventures for Age 60

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