[longlakepat]

Hi....I live just outside Minneapolis Minnesota on a small hobby farm.. About
a week ago (mid October) I saw 4-5-6 of the same bird flitting around our
garden area....they all appeared to be the same..Here goes: Size of about
a robin perhaps slightly smaller....blue on head -wings--and tail...the breast
area was a sort of cream colored...At first glance I thought they might be
indigo buntings but those are all blue (I've seen them before on our property)
The blue was not as dark as an indigo bunting...they had almost a warbler
type look and their wings were definitly not "swallow like"...I'm not a
"birder"...but we have several bird books and can't find anything like them.
My "guess" is that they were migrating as I have not seen them since...nor
had I seen them before.. I couldn't get close enough to see if there were
any gender type differences..nor could I get any close up views of their
bills...My first impression or glance was that they might be eastern bluebirds
which we have on our property....but they were not ...and a somewhat
larger bird...Thanks so much Pat

[stephennj]

Gray Jay is possible from description

[stephennj]

ps welcome to Birdfourum !

[J. Moore]

I also wish to welcome you to BirdForum!

Male Indigo Buntings at this time of year would not be all blue (see: http://k53.pbase.com/o4/31/498631/1/...s082105028.jpg), they would have splotches of blue and be otherwise grayish. Eastern Bluebird is another possibility. What makes you think they were not Eastern Bluebirds?

(I am a little skeptical of Gray Jay. They are larger than a Robin, and have no blue.)

Best,
Jim

[voguedog]

Hi there,

I'm thinking you may be seeing dark-eyed juncos... I live in MN too, and have plenty of juncos in my yard-

Robin

[J. Moore]

Originally Posted by voguedog

Hi there,

I'm thinking you may be seeing dark-eyed juncos... I live in MN too, and have plenty of juncos in my yard-

Robin

Well, Pat says "the blue was not as dark as an Indigo Bunting". The gray of a Dark-eyed Junco is not blue, and is darker than an Indigo Bunting, but who knows.

Best,
Jim

[voguedog]

Yes, well a female junco is a rather light colored slate gray, which may have a bluish cast to it- see below

http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/sho...p?photo=192770

Robin

[cnybirder]

I agree with J. Moore on Eastern Bluebird. It seems most likely. It is just the right time of year for them to be migrating. The habitat sounds good as well (though Bluebirds can be found in many habitats in migration). They are various shades of blue with some parts showing lighter or deeper blue than others.