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Orchard or Baltimore Oriole? (1 Viewer)

C

contentedbirder

Well-known member
This bird appears to be a kind of Oriole, but it has a lot of white on its belly. Does the white signal that it is not fully grown? It seems to be more brownish, so maybe it's not a Baltimore, but an Orchard Oriole? It looks for seeds by scratching rapidly in place with its feet. The tail appears to be black with a bit of white. It likes to stay near bushes where it can quickly duck out of sight.
Northern New Jersey, October 31, 2014
 

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To be a bit more complete, it is a male Eastern Towhee. If you have an older field guide, it may be listed as a Rufous-sided Towhee. In either case, it will be found with the sparrows. When I started birding I never thought to look for such a large, colorful bird in that part of the book.
 
A agree it's an Eastern Towhee, and it doesn't instantly make one think of sparrow. It's behavior of scratching in the grass - as you have caught in your pics - is one thing which makes it easier to think of as a sparrow. Lovely bird!
 
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