[camallard]

This bird was too quick for me to get a good look or image. It's about the size of a finch. Any ideas on what this could be? Thanks.

[Jan-Paul Charteris]

Northern Mockingbird?

Jan

[camallard]

I don't think because the bill is yellow and it has a white eye ring. Plus it was smaller than a mockingbird.

[chris murphy]

Looks like a Gnatcatcher sp.

[Chris Benesh]

Hi All,

I agree with Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.

Chris

[Jan-Paul Charteris]

Oops wasn't sure what size a Mockingbird was (could have looked but of course didn't ) Having googled gnatcatchers yeah would agree with that, but not sure which Must get Sibley

Jan

[craftygirl]

Doesn't the yellow bill also rule out any gnatcatchers? Could be wrong. A Blue-grey gnatcatcher might work, but tail appears black from underneath in the picture, and if it were a Blue-grey it would appear white. Black-tailed gnatcatcher fixes that issue, but you run into the beak color problem again. If it is a black-tailed, I'd say a female from the face pattern.

[camallard]

Sorry this is a terrible pic but it's the only one I could get.
The bill size and color is what I'm having trouble with.
It's narrow, long yellow bill.
I think this does rule out the gnatcatcher.

[Chris Benesh]

Originally Posted by craftygirl

Doesn't the yellow bill also rule out any gnatcatchers? Could be wrong. A Blue-grey gnatcatcher might work, but tail appears black from underneath in the picture, and if it were a Blue-grey it would appear white. Black-tailed gnatcatcher fixes that issue, but you run into the beak color problem again. If it is a black-tailed, I'd say a female from the face pattern.

Hi craftygirl,

The bill does not look yellow on my monitor, but its probably not black (see last link below). That's okay, there really are no other candidates that look like this in North America. Also, if you look at the tail, you can see that it is fanned open. If you look at the outermost feather, you can see that it is entirely white. The next one is mostly white but with some dark at the base. That is the tail pattern of a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. A Black-tailed Gnatcatcher has less white in the tail. The outermost feather is white only at the tip and along the outer edge, and the next inward feather is almost all dark with a narrow white tip. Thus, it's got to be a Blue-gray.
Black-tailed tail patterns:
http://fireflyforest.net/images/fire...natcatcher.jpg
http://www.bird-friends.com/pics/Bla...catcher8LR.jpg
Blue-gray tail pattern and bill color:
http://www.hiltonpond.org/images/Gna...lueGrayM01.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...natcatcher.jpg
Chris

[J. Moore]

I agree with Blue-gray Gnatcatcher for the reasons Chris states.

Best,
Jim

[camallard]

I agree too...found other pics that support the yellow bill.

[camallard]

Thanks everyone for your help.