Got a poor look at an unusual bird near my feeder this afternoon.
The bird was half-facing me with its tail concealed. It was definitely
larger than the chickadees and seemed about the size of a cardinal. It was
generally brown-gray, vaguely like a female House Sparrow: there was no
clear visible striping on the crown, which seemed more gray than brown. The
legs and bill were black. The bill was quite slender, definitely not
finch-like. The throat and breast were clear, with no dividing line - the
colour here was very light brown or buffy. There appeared to be at least a
partial eye-ring, or perhaps a small eyeline at the top of the eye. I didn't
notice the eye colour, so it was probably dark. There seemed to be lightish
wing bars and there was definitely a light patch on the wing edge (rather
like a Black-throated Blue Warbler).
A few minutes later it had moved, but it was probably the same bird I saw
then flitting through the bushes, approximately cardinal-sized with a long
tail with light edges.
Unfortunately I only saw it through two panes of old (distorting), dirty
glass, and I'm not familiar with the bird, so I'm reluctant to call it
absolutely. It did look like photos I googled.
300 Athol St. E., Oshawa
North from 401 on Ritson Rd. about 2 km to King Street (Hwy 2); east on King
one very short block to Rowe St.; south on Rowe one block towards Athol.
House is on NW corner of Athol and Rowe. Feeder is in back yard, visible
from Rowe St.
Monica Connolly
_______________________________________________
ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial
birding organization.
Send bird reports to ONTBIRDS mailing list [email protected]
For instructions to join or leave ONTBIRDS visit
http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdssetup.php
ONTBIRDS Guidelines may be viewed at
http://www.ofo.ca/information/ontbirdsguide.php
