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ID of birds

14 years ago

The other day these birds hit my yard....dozens of them. I do not recall ever having seen them before. I believe they might be "winter" Starlings. Sorry, I know the picture could be better. They had heavily speckled breasts. Can someone verify that they are "winter" Starlings? I live in a western Chicago suburb. Thanks, Barb

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Comments (2)

creeper
14 years ago
I am not sure what you mean by "winter" but yes they are starlings
Renkosiewicz
Original Author
14 years ago
My bird book refers to this coloration as "winter" plumage. They do not have the heavily speckled breasts or the dark beaks in the summer. I have never seen them marked this way before. That is why I wasn't sure if they actually are Starlings! Thanks you for responding to my post. Barb
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No. Not a deformed beak I don't think. We have tons of California Thrashers here (the bane of my fruit and fig trees!), and this didn't look like a Thrasher. Head was blackish, beak was much thicker and black, not brown. I have never seen this bird before, so I'm thinking it's a visitor, flying through. The bill looks like a Magpie's bill - thick, black, longer, and a curved slightly downward. But thank you all for trying. Anyone else care to venture a guess? Patty S. This post was edited by hoosierquilt on Fri, Feb 6, 15 at 13:45
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