Help with juvenal bird ID (1 Viewer)

Jacamar

Well-known member

• Jun 1, 2004

• #1

Here are two pictures of some kind of juvenal or baby bird that was sitting on the fence. There was a House Wren feeding it, but these birds are much bigger than the wren, so I think it must be a baby of some kind of brood parasitic bird. The only possibility that I can think of would be a Shiny Cowbird, but I'm not sure. Can anyone tell me what it is?

 

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Michael Frankis

conehead

• Jun 1, 2004

• #2

I'd agree a juvenile* cowbird of some sort, but don't know which.

Michael

* 'juvenal' is an archaic spelling

 

Rasmus Boegh

BF member

• Jun 1, 2004

• #3

It is indeed very hard to say for sure, judging from those photos. But why not an adult female Shiny Cowbird? It is rather pale below, but not beyond what I would consider normal in females...

 

Rasmus Boegh

BF member

• Jun 1, 2004

• #4

Jacamar said:

There was a House Wren feeding it, but these birds are much bigger than the wren, so I think it must be a baby of some kind of brood parasitic bird.

Click to expand...

Oops! Didn't note that part. Well, you certainly have a Shiny then, but obviously not a fully grown adult. Only other cowbird in range is Giant Cowbird (!), and it certainly isn't one of those!

 

Jacamar

Well-known member

• Jun 1, 2004

• #5

Thank you, Rasmus, for the ID.
Michael, My fieldguide was printed in 1995, and that is the word they use! Thanks for correcting me though, I never thought juvenal sounded right.

 

D

Dave B Smith

Well-known member

• Jun 1, 2004

• #6

Jacamar,
Don't worry too much about the terminology. While a young bird is a Juvenile, the plumage of that bird is often referred to as "Juvenal Plumage" even in current texts.

 

Rasmus Boegh

BF member

• Jun 2, 2004

• #7

Stumpled over this page by sheer coincidence:

http://webserv.nhl.nl/~ribot/english/mobo_ng.htm