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Bird ID

17 years ago

I saw this bird this morning in central IL. When he was coming in for a landing I first thought he was a starling because of his size. But then quickly realized he was something else. I watched it eat some BOSS off the ground and would say its about the size of a female cowbird, noticeably bigger than HOSP or finches. I figured it was a sparrow member, but it looked like it had a narrower beak. I didn't get a good photo, here is the best I could get.

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Scale with Dove.

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Comments (2)

dzyg
17 years ago
Hard to tell for sure but it looks like a female Red-winged Blackbird.

Donna
chris8796
Original Author
17 years ago
I think your correct. We've had male RWBs for several weeks and they usually feed from the platform. They were one of the first migrating birds to arrive. I just assumed the female RWB were similar.

Thanks
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Absolutely Lesser Goldfinch. By the way, I don't know how much time you spent looking at warbler pics, but you would have saved yourself that effort by noting the bill shape: warblers have much thinner bills. Bill shape and size is often a good clue to point you in the right direction; bright colour patterns you'll likely remember without trying, but the bill really needs to be looked at (unless we're talking about a toucan or spoonbill etc). Just a friendly hint. -O-
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As whwo said: Yellow-rumped Warbler is a good guess. The winter plumage of the males is much more muted - check the adult female on the bottom of the All About Birds link. Claire
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Wow, you are Right! I didnt realize the females looked like this but i just looked it up! Thank you so much! We have alot of brown headed cowbirds so this makes sense.
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