Small songbird, Colorado USA (1 Viewer)

tenex

reality-based

• Apr 9, 2019

• #1

This must be a quite common bird and I've seen it before in previous years, probably also in springtime, but have failed twice now to identify it. (I'm also curious why that is, even with a search engine like WhatBird.) Perched this time atop a conifer. Loud song, rather small and quite slender, overall dark grayish(?) color, largely reddish neck and head (presumably on male), relatively long slender tail with a central notch (two lobes). Didn't have the best view or light, but no pattern easily visible on body (like stripes on a finch).

 

Birdbrain22

Well-known member

• Apr 9, 2019

• #2

Why not a male Cassin's Finch... they are not nearly as streaked as House Finches

 

M

Marsha P

MP

• Apr 9, 2019

• #3

Is it just me - I don't see an image??

 

tenex

reality-based

• Apr 9, 2019

• #4

Birdbrain22 said:

Why not a male Cassin's Finch... they are not nearly as streaked as House Finches

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Thanks, a good and likely suggestion. I just haven't had the impression of a light or streaked belly, or the distinct red cap I see in a lot of Cassin's photos. I'll keep hoping for a better look...

Marsha P said:

Is it just me - I don't see an image??

Click to expand...

No, it's not just you. I don't either.

 

Birdbrain22

Well-known member

• Apr 9, 2019

• #5

tenex said:

Thanks, a good and likely suggestion. I just haven't had the impression of a light or streaked belly, or the distinct red cap I see in a lot of Cassin's photos. I'll keep hoping for a better look...

No, it's not just you. I don't either.

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Did you actually have a pic?... because I did not see one either. I was just trying to ID by the description given.

 

Microtus

Maryland USA (he/him)

• Apr 10, 2019

• #6

Tenex, where in Colorado did you see the bird?

 

tenex

reality-based

• Apr 12, 2019

• #7

No one should waste further thought on this. I did finally get a good look at the bird(s!) I'm seeing here just now with binos, and they're simply House Finches, whose streaks I couldn't make out in silhouette at a distance. I also have some memory of a bird that seemed very slender and dark overall, but shape varies with posture and I might not have seen the belly, so that could have been a HF too. The more I look at photos of Cassin's the surer I am I've never seen one, and there doesn't seem to be another likely possibility. Sorry for sharing my confusion.

 

F

fugl

Well-known member

• Apr 12, 2019

• #8

tenex said:

No one should waste further thought on this. . . . Sorry for sharing my confusion.

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No problem—fielding ID questions is what many BFers are here for. . ..

 

tenex

reality-based

• Apr 12, 2019

• #9

By the way, after some experimentation I see why I keep getting nowhere with WhatBird. It's incredibly rigid. A House Finch is just over 5", so if I guess 'very small, 3-5"' instead of 'small, 5-9"' it gets excluded. Similarly, it's tagged as primarily "brown" not "gray". Its (possible) secondary color is tagged as "red" not "rufous", and so on. Someone just wasn't thinking of actual use here. Do other such engines work better? (For apps I have an Android phone. I once tried to download Merlin but it wouldn't run.)