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Bird I.D. NW Pennsylvania..USA (1 Viewer)

IndianaKat

IndianaKat

Novice Backyard Birder
On another forum that I frequent a gentleman posted these pix (taken by a friend )of a bird that has been frequenting their feeders. The pix are not good quality. In one photo the bird is perching on a deck post that measures 4"x4" so they are "guesstimating" the bird to be about the size of an American Robin. In another photo the bird is feeding with House Finches, for another "size of bird" reference. The bird seems to have little or no tail but is an excellent flier and although the feathering on the head may suggest "mites" the gentleman said that the bird appears healthy and that the head feathers look "like a hood that is pulled up". Most folks on the other forum agree that this bird is most likely an "escapee". The birds lower mandible is long and deeply curved while the upper mandible is much shorter. Some folks feel this is a "hoax" and that this bird is not real. The gentleman who posted these pix assured everyone that this is not a hoax and that this bird exists. Can someone help I.D. this little bird? The gentleman is hoping for some better photos and will post them if and when this bird returns.Thank you for all your help......
 

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i cant think of anything that occurs in the US that has a bill like that...

must be some bird with a mutation or a escapee of some exotice bird i have never heard of...
 
Can any body come up with any remote possibilities from ANYWHERE lets see if there is a bird on earth that could fit the M.O. Taking the weird head as odd freakish feather sheding. Calling all cars this is very interesting, or a weird welll done hoax. Please Help super mods.
 
steveo said:
Can any body come up with any remote possibilities from ANYWHERE lets see if there is a bird on earth that could fit the M.O. Taking the weird head as odd freakish feather sheding. Calling all cars this is very interesting, or a weird welll done hoax. Please Help super mods.
Click to expand...
well, i am just bored enough i am going to go through all the birds i can think of and look them up on google images...

hopefully someone has a picture of a bird that even remotely resembles this bird

edit: for some reason it is screaming africa...but i cant figure out why|:p|
 
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I have no clue - I'll bump it up to see if one of oue more exoic experts has a suggestion. I think the bill is a defomity though
 
Great Crested Flycatcher came to mind, wings look too cinnamon though and wouldnt feed at bird table.. its a wonder in can feed at all!

Will have to go for gonzo from the muppet show...

Was wondering what he was up too...
 
Wow... is it fully plumaged or is there bare skin? It sure looks like a mutated bill. As odd as this sounds, what about a deformed Northern Cardinal???
 
jcwings said:
Wow... is it fully plumaged or is there bare skin? It sure looks like a mutated bill. As odd as this sounds, what about a deformed Northern Cardinal???
Click to expand...
Pushing from my mind that it is stuffed, Cardinal was the first thing that came to my mind only for the plumage though.
 
KCFoggin said:
Pushing from my mind that it is stuffed, Cardinal was the first thing that came to my mind only for the plumage though.
Click to expand...
ignoring the head

with a red wing and yellow breast it does not look to me like a cardinal...
 
I want to thank everyone for all your help in trying to determine "what" this bird could be. I first thought Northern Cardinal (female) myself when I viewed the photo of the bird feeding with the House Finches (the first photo). The photo of the bird alone at the feeder is astounding to me to say the least. The angle of the camera exaggerates the deep curve of the bill even more. I believe the birds coloring in the third photo has been "enhanced" (and thats an understatement, I can do the same thing with my little free photo editing program). I believe the birds true coloring is more apparent in the first photo....and that coloring is what makes me lean toward female Northern Cardinal (with an obivious underbite!!!!!) I think if this were an exotic (escapee???) with this shape bill it definitely would not be eating seed at a feeder in NW Pennsylvania. In my humble opinion with this bill shape ( if this bill shape is normal for whatever this bird might be, if not a Cardinal) it would be some sort of fruit eater (hornbills;macaws,etc.) and would be in an orchard somewhere eating apples or whatever other fruit might be available. Wouldn't a Cardinal still be a seed eater, no matter the shape of the bill? And this bird is obviously eating seed.......... But, I could be totally wrong on all counts and these are not facts, just my humble opinions. Again, thank you all so very, very much for trying to help....I appreciate it so much.
 
Deformed Bills in Passerines

I came across the below website and it reminded me of this thread.
http://www.umd.umich.edu/dept/rouge_river/bills.html
There is a rather frightening looking Northern Cardinal here:
http://www.umd.umich.edu/dept/rouge_river/noca_billdef.jpg
One of the links from the first page mentioned that birds with such deformities are on the rise. Sad.


IndianaKat said:
I want to thank everyone for all your help in trying to determine "what" this bird could be. I first thought Northern Cardinal (female) myself when I viewed the photo of the bird feeding with the House Finches (the first photo). The photo of the bird alone at the feeder is astounding to me to say the least. The angle of the camera exaggerates the deep curve of the bill even more. I believe the birds coloring in the third photo has been "enhanced" (and thats an understatement, I can do the same thing with my little free photo editing program). I believe the birds true coloring is more apparent in the first photo....and that coloring is what makes me lean toward female Northern Cardinal (with an obivious underbite!!!!!) I think if this were an exotic (escapee???) with this shape bill it definitely would not be eating seed at a feeder in NW Pennsylvania. In my humble opinion with this bill shape ( if this bill shape is normal for whatever this bird might be, if not a Cardinal) it would be some sort of fruit eater (hornbills;macaws,etc.) and would be in an orchard somewhere eating apples or whatever other fruit might be available. Wouldn't a Cardinal still be a seed eater, no matter the shape of the bill? And this bird is obviously eating seed.......... But, I could be totally wrong on all counts and these are not facts, just my humble opinions. Again, thank you all so very, very much for trying to help....I appreciate it so much.
Click to expand...
 
I am unable to identify pic no 1 , but the bird in no 2 is obviously an Northern Sickle- Beaked Satan Bird -a wonderful find !....No 3 is .......a little disturbing. I hope they stay out of my yard.3:) All of them !
 
The only chance this is a Northern cardinal is if it was drinking from a pool of mercury and chased it down with a shot of Jack Daniels! :)
 
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