Over a span of about thirty minutes, I kept noticing that a male American Robin would fly rapidly, directly, deliberately toward a tree and up about forty feet into its foliage, resulting in the flushing out of another bird and a subsequent pursuit. The bird being pursued would take refuge in another tree or bush lower down, where the Male American Robin would further engage it, resulting in the quarrelsome sounds of wings coming in careless contact with vegetation and vocalizations of conflict. There was no physical contact between the birds insomuch as the smaller bird was in a state of heightened awareness as well as proving quicker and more agile than a male American Robin.
Over and over, this scenario played out from tree to tree. There would be sounds of discord lasting for several seconds, it would subside, cease to a quiet and still, and then reoccur moments later at a different tree located within a small area of a larger patch of woods. It did not seem like a continuous chase, but it could have been. I do not know whether the chaser was the same male American Robin, but it could have been. There was an inordinate amount American Robins in the woods Saturday, so it was impossible to tell. I also do not know whether the bird I kept seeing chased was always the same bird, but it seemed to be.
At one point, from a distance—and when the bird being chased flew through a narrow strip of unobstructed sunlight—it appeared gray, like a Northern Mockingbird; however, I mentally noted that I saw not the broad white wing bars that should have been quite visible. At a point when the birds were closer, I realized that the bird being chased was somewhat smaller than the American Robin. When I finally saw the bird being chased through the eye of my camera, I thought I was looking at a juvenile, leucistic American Robin.
http://mitchellelevonewright.blogspot.com/2013/09/thrush-unidentified-09072013.html
Over and over, this scenario played out from tree to tree. There would be sounds of discord lasting for several seconds, it would subside, cease to a quiet and still, and then reoccur moments later at a different tree located within a small area of a larger patch of woods. It did not seem like a continuous chase, but it could have been. I do not know whether the chaser was the same male American Robin, but it could have been. There was an inordinate amount American Robins in the woods Saturday, so it was impossible to tell. I also do not know whether the bird I kept seeing chased was always the same bird, but it seemed to be.
At one point, from a distance—and when the bird being chased flew through a narrow strip of unobstructed sunlight—it appeared gray, like a Northern Mockingbird; however, I mentally noted that I saw not the broad white wing bars that should have been quite visible. At a point when the birds were closer, I realized that the bird being chased was somewhat smaller than the American Robin. When I finally saw the bird being chased through the eye of my camera, I thought I was looking at a juvenile, leucistic American Robin.
http://mitchellelevonewright.blogspot.com/2013/09/thrush-unidentified-09072013.html
