Stumped (1 Viewer)

L

longbow

Well-known member

• May 27, 2011

• #1

Hey All.

Haven't been around for a while, been in the wind. Hope to catch up now slowly.

First thing, I had a bird at the feeder I can't find in Sibley's or Audubon's. Doesn't mean he's not there of course, and I have no pix, but perhaps a leg up from you fine folks?

About the size of a tanager or so, I'm guessing.

Yellow crown stripe, brown eyebrow, yellow eye stripe grading into white at rear, brown cheeks/face, yellow neck and belly grading down to buff, dark brown wings with white spots, shortish tail. Had a rather roman nose profile with a dark, somewhat coarse beak and a flat forehead. Pretty sure it was a male.

I'm in the British Columbia interior.

Any ideas?

Thanks much.

 

F

fugl

Well-known member

• May 27, 2011

• #2

Evening Grosbeak?
Western Meadowlark?

Neither of these fits your description very closely, but they're the best I can come up with off the top of my head.

 

MLoyko

d[-_-]b

• May 27, 2011

• #3

Funny, Meadowlark came to my head too for some reason

 

BuckeyeAZ

Just this bloke, you know

• May 27, 2011

• #4

Allowing for one or two mistakes about what stripes go where, it's a pretty creditable description of black-headed grosbeak or rose-breasted grosbeak, female or immature.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-headed_Grosbeak/id
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rose-breasted_Grosbeak/id

 

L

longbow

Well-known member

• May 29, 2011

• #5

'Fraid not, not even in the ball park. My description is quite accurate, should anyone care to read it again. Thanks for the guesses though.

 

BuckeyeAZ

Just this bloke, you know

• May 29, 2011

• #6

longbow said:

My description is quite accurate

Click to expand...

'brown eyebrow, yellow eye stripe grading into white at rear'
= pale stripe through the eye bordered immediately above by a dark stripe...? Hmm, I wonder...
Anyway, if your description really is accurate (and the vast majority of descriptions of puzzling birds are inaccurate in one way or another) it doesn't fit any N American bird. So you've seen an escape.

 

erisian.pope

very amateur

• May 29, 2011

• #7

It sounds a little like a female Dickcissel to me, but the location's not good for that (based on Sibley's). (I'm not sure if the Dickcissel has a yellow crown-stripe, and it's neck isn't yellow but its breast is - so I know this isn't a great match. Just a shot in the dark from a total noob).

 

Larry Lade

Moderator

• May 29, 2011

• #8

This first thing that came to my mind as I read the description was meadowlark, also.

 

K

kuips

Well-known member

• May 29, 2011

• #9

I only have a few suggestions as well.

Female yellow-headed blackbird?
Bobolink?
Accidental Dickcissel? (they do rarely show up in interior BC)
Accidental female Yellow Grosbeak (long shot)

That's it for me!

 

Larry Lade

Moderator

• May 29, 2011

• #10

Perhaps it was a female Yellow-headed Blackbird.

 

Tred

Well-known member

• May 29, 2011

• #11

White-throated sparrows have a yellow and white streak just above their eye. Otherwise it doesn't fit your description that well. The people who suggested female yellow-headed blackbird and bobolink might be on to something as well. I'd suggest googling pictures of a female bobolink, because they kind of match your description.

 

W

Whooping Crone

Well-known member

• May 29, 2011

• #12

About the size of a tanager or so, I'm guessing.

Yellow crown stripe, brown eyebrow, yellow eye stripe grading into white at rear, brown cheeks/face, yellow neck and belly grading down to buff, dark brown wings with white spots,

Click to expand...

I'm with Buckeye - aside from the yellow crown stripe I don't see how this isn't describing a female-type Black Headed Grosbeak. It may not be your bird, but surely its "in the ballpark" of your description?

I'll try to attach one of my own images for your comparison, but I'm not a photographer so it isn't an exceptional pic.

 

Attachments

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  Female BHGRO comp.jpg

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