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Help Identify Bird in Backyard

14 years ago

A bird that I cannot identify just followed a baltimore oriole onto my backyard hummingbird feeder. It was the same size as the oriole, but it had a black head, brown back & brown wings with a few light colored spots on them, a white or very light grey belly and a red spot on it's neck(chin). We have flickers in our yard, but this did not look anything like the male or female flicker. Can someone tell me what this might be? It's the first time I've ever seen one of these around.

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Comments (4)

rachel_frome_ky
14 years ago
Maybe it's the female, or one of the fledglings?
chinamigarden
14 years ago
Have you considered a Rose Breasted Grosbeak? The brown doesn't sound right, but the red spot on its neck and the light colored under parts makes me think it might be. I have seen plenty of pictures with RBGs with Orioles at oranges so it might be.
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ddavis14068
Original Author
14 years ago
After viewing a picture of a Rose Breasted Grosbeak I believe that's what it was. I'm just getting into this bird watching and identifying. It's amazing how many different birds I have in my own back yard and never realized. Thank you for your help.
orrin_h
14 years ago
For birders who are in the early learning stage, a very helpful thing is to really look at the bill, the shape, size and colour. This will often give a good clue to the type of bird being observed (grossbeak vs oriole, for example), and other field marks (bird size and shape, plumage etc) can then be used to narrow it down further.

-O-

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