Feather, our local birding expert also went with female Baltimore at first (he's still studying it and hopes to come see the bird today). I am really surprised. I have not seen female Baltimores this yellow/green and with so little head color. Am I mistaken on that? (obviously so). As for rarity - a Western Tanager is seen in our area about once every 5-10 years and it is always a male. Is that because the females aren't recognized but are thought to be orioles? It is hanging around some with the orioles, certainly loves the grapes. To my mind though, it behaves a bit differently. She seems calmer and less flitty on the feeder poles. When I drove up last night, all the orioles flew away, she did not. We put together this little collage using our pictures of her (mystery bird) and a couple pics stolen off the web (my apologies to whoever took those pics). This definitely sways my mind, but I'll let all of you take a look and see what you think. I need to go search for Baltimore females to see if I find one like our girl.

well, the horns were definitely more like the head of the lark, but you are right I would have noticed the specific markings of a mature male. Horned larks are not really in our area except rarely in the winter. Streaked larks are around but I have never seen one. Probably more likely would be juvenile house finch since I have oodles of finches. thanks

Thanks for your help...I had no idea whatsoever. I've never seen one before, and certainly never seen a male or anything else like it. But I just looked it up and it's not a nice bird to have around. I think it went away and I sure hope it doesn't come back. Here is a link that might be useful: Cowbird eggs in nestboxes -- Sialis.org

Goldfinches in the non-breeding season are very drab compared to their summer glory. Sibley Guide: The Annual plumage cycle of a male American Goldfinch Click on "play" to see the slideshow of monthly changes. Claire This post was edited by claire on Fri, Oct 17, 14 at 16:09