I was thinking wood thrush when I first saw it. My bird book says wood thrushes are summer birds in my area (southeast Georgia), so then I thought maybe a hermit thrush? Its tail is a redish brown color. I am not very good at this lol, but at least its fun!

White crowned sparrows have been plentiful during migration this spring. We've had many reports here in MN and I had one in my yard the other day ... something I'd been hoping for the last 5+ years!

Readers Digest Book of North American Birds; ISBN 0895773511; 1990. A Fufous-sided Towhee: Pipilo erythrophthalmus: "Scratching about with one foot at a time, like barnyard poultry, rufous-sided towhees gather their food from the very bosom of the earth. It is little wonder, then, that these active birds used to be called ground robins, especially since their well-hidden nests of stems and leaves are nestled so close to the ground. Today they are named towhees because that is the sound most people hear in their song. But they were once known as chewinks, from the call they make when alarmed. In some parts of the West that call is phonetically transcribed as shrenk, while in others it sounds more like the meowing of catbirds. In sections of the Southeast they unquestionably call Louise! And although their song is translated into English in most parts of the country as "chip towhee" or "drink your tea," the birds seem to drawl it in the South, and are apt to sing chip chup chup zeeeeeee, or just a buzzy zeeeeee, in the West. Their visual field marks too are almost as varied as their vocal ones. Rusous-sided towhees in Florida have white eyes instead of red ones, and those in the West have two white wing bars plus numerous white spots on their wings and backs. But no matter where they live, all rufous-sided towhees come flying in low to the ground with the side patches in their tails looking like white chiffon streamers trailing dramatically behind them."

It could be but I'm not positive. I'll have to show this to my Mom. I kept describing him as having "orange armpits", so this pic would match in that respect. But the bird in your pic looks more sleek and less chubby than the bird in my yard. He had that well-rounded chickadee belly. Do you know of any other small black, orange and white birds that might be in my area? I see that you're in KY!