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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dickie Byrd" data-source="post: 1137439" data-attributes="member: 63581">Hello to all from Fairbanks, Alaska, in the middle of winter.No, I did NOT take this picture this winter.  (grin)  I was hunting 20 miles north of the Arctic Circle when this bird landed in a tree next to me and my camera.  (Canon 30D with Sigma 70-200mm lens.)  By just looking at the camera CRT I assumed it was back-lighted Gray Jay (Canadian Jay, Camp Robber, Whiskey Jack).  Two days ago I got to this bird in my picture cleaning and editing.  I used Birds Of the American West by Roger Tory Peterson,  The Sibley Field Guide to Western Birds,  and National Geographic Field Guide To North American Birds.  The closest match I could find was a female Brewster's Blackbird.  But this bird was all by itself on September 21, 2007, the bill seems a little bit wrong, and the chest bars are much more promenant than any pictures in the books or on WEB sites.  And it was far north of their normal range.  (Roger Tory Peterson guide did mention Accidental - Alaska which is the reason I chose it.)Can anyone confirm this is the right identification for this bird please.  I sometimes send pictures world-wide and I would sure hate to send people the wrong information.Thank you          -       -     Dickie Byrd</blockquote>