Gray bird in box (2 Viewers)

[qexnar]

Hi all,

My son (6) and I built a bird house last weekend, hoping to attract a Black Capped Chickadee (his favorite!). The box has a 1 and a quarter inch hole.

I thought we were too late in the season but to my amazement something moved in the very next day! I’m very new to bird watching so I was helping for hope identifying it.

We live in SE Michigan, USA. The bird is larger than a sparrow but I can’t really tell if it’s American Robin sized or somewhere in between that and sparrow. It has a grey head and back and a white belly. Both colors are consistent with no variation I’ve noticed. It has a moderately long and very narrow tail. It has a small head without a tuft, and a shortish black beak. I haven’t noticed any other field marks. It’s been flying around the box picking up sticks and bringing them in the box.

My first thought was a grey catbird, but I don’t notice any black on its head or tail. Eastern peewee was another thought but the head seems more extended from the body like a robin then tight in like a house wren. Eastern phoebe is another that seems possible, but again no black head.

Any help? I’ll try and get a picture.

 

[KC Foggin]

How about a Junco?

 

[qexnar]

How about a Junco?

I don’t think so. The divide between grey and white is very stark, like an American Robin’s chest.

 

[Lisa W]

How about a titmouse of some sort?

 

[qexnar]

I thought that at first, but then I got a good luck at the head and there’s no crest.

 

[gsimonel]

Female brown-headed cowbird? Not sure what it would be doing building a nest, though.

 

[nartreb]

In general, when looking at a new bird, the first thing to notice is the shape of the beak. Is it triangular, like on a junco? More elongated and/or slightly curved, like on an american robin? Thick at the base but pointier than a sparrow, like on a red-winged blackbird? Small and slightly conical, like on a titmouse or chickadee? etc etc.

I don't think it's a phoebe - they don't usually nest in boxes, and they don't use sticks in their nests, just mud and grass and moss.
Nor a junco, for similar reasons.

 

[qexnar]

Def. not a cowbird, I'm well acquainted with those. I'll try and notice more details about the beak next time I can get a close enough view. I've been looking through allaboutbirds and my current theory is Warbling Vireo. I didn't notice the white stripe above the eye and the belly didn't look yellowish to me, but it seems to match the clearly divided upper-brown/lower-white coloring. They're not super common in my area (never seen one before but I do see a few scattered reports around me on ebird). Would they use a box?

 

[nartreb]

Def. not a cowbird, I'm well acquainted with those. I'll try and notice more details about the beak next time I can get a close enough view. I've been looking through allaboutbirds and my current theory is Warbling Vireo. I didn't notice the white stripe above the eye and the belly didn't look yellowish to me, but it seems to match the clearly divided upper-brown/lower-white coloring. They're not super common in my area (never seen one before but I do see a few scattered reports around me on ebird). Would they use a box?

Unlikely. And the nesting material would be grass and hair and spider silk.

Take a look at House Wren.

 

[Bewick]

Blue-grey gnatcatcher?

 

[Butty]

I’ll try and get a picture.

Good.
Impossible to identify from the current description unfortunately.

 

[qexnar]

I recognize these pictures are really blurry but they’re the best I could get with my phone. I don’t think it’s a house wren as we have some in a box as well and this bird is noticeably larger. At least sparrow size, maybe more.

Edit: for size reference, the hole in the box is 1 and 1/4 inch.

 

[Butty]

I guess house wren.

 

[Bewick]

Do you have bino’s or a scope?

 

[qexnar]

Binoculars. The first three pictures were taken at max zoom (15x) with my iPhone, the last two were taken at 3x zoom through my 10x42 binoculars

 

[Bewick]

Binoculars. The first three pictures were taken at max zoom (15x) with my iPhone, the last two were taken at 3x zoom through my 10x42 binoculars

Apologies. Then you already did what I was going to recommend.

 

[gsimonel]

Could it be a female house sparrow?

 

[dantheman]

What would a Bewick's Wren look like?

Surely it can't be a House Wren if it appears larger than a sparrow? Image 3 appears the best. Maybe try and get in position a bit closer for closer pics with your phone for better pics?

 

[Butty]

it appears larger than a sparrow

The OP didn't say that.

 

[dantheman]

The OP didn't say that.

Check out second sentence, paragraph 3 in the OP ... ?