We regularly sweep clean our main 10,000 Birds Clinic page and compile the questions and answers into a handy, bite-sized “round-up” which we archive online (you never know when then these things might come in useful after all…).

Please feel free to add additional comments to the published answers - we’re all on the same learning curve round here and we really appreciate it when our readers feel like chipping in. If you’ve a question of your own you’d like to put to the team please go to the Clinic Page, write it down, and send it in.

Brown headed bird ID? - from E Brown, USA

I have a couple of birds that come to my feeder and I would like to know what type they are. They are black birds with a full chocolate brown head. Hopefully you could identify the species for me. Thanks.

• A: from Mike

  Hi E Brown, the birds you’re describing are Brown-headed Cowbirds, a common species which lays its eggs in other birds nests.

Is this a Mockingbird - from Mike, AZ

I took this picture in my backyard, Scottsdale AZ, on March 8, 2008. At first I thought it was a Northern Mockingbird, but the face is too dark and the eyes are black. Any ideas?

•  

  A: from Charlie

  Hi Mike. Interesting photo, but this is a Northern Mockingbird that, I would guess, has perhaps been digging about in soil or mud - hence the “angel with a dirty face” as it were. Birds quite often get stained around the face - eg by dirt, minerals in the soil, or pollen, and they can look a little “different”.
  I also zoomed right in on your image and the eye is actually orange, which is quite within the range of NM - most books tend to accentuate a yellow eye as an identification feature, but if you look through Google Images you’ll see many individuals have this coloured eye, especially in early spring (juveniles have dark eyes, and I don’t know this for sure, but it may be that eye colour takes at least a year to lighten fully - does anyone reading this know?).

  Incidentally, your thinking this isn’t a Northern Mockingbird is a case of ruling out a bird identification on a seemingly anomolous feature (the dark face) rather than looking at the full suite of characters that make up a bird. We’ve all been there of course, but if you look at everything that’s “right” about a bird and then try to find an alternative for the one “wrong” feature you can normally get to the correct answer.

Is this a Bullock’s Oriole - from Linda, Washington

We live in Leavenworth, Washington located in the north central part of the state. I’ve included pictures of what I think might be a Bullock’s Oriole but by all descriptions the B. Oriole should be orange. This bird is very bright yellow - it has a black back with white on the wings - I’m just not able to get a better shot of him. He/she comes around 7pm or so each evening and drinks from the hummingbird feeder. Hope you can help me.

•  

  A: from Charlie

  Hi Linda. Thanks to your clear photos of this beautiful visitor to your home I can say with certainty that this indeed a male Bullock’s Oriole. Some books do illustrate Bullock’s as a very orange bird, but they are often this yellow as well (though I think if you look very closely you’ll see that the throat and upper breast have an orangey tone, and the yellow is strongest on the breast and belly).

Is this a Bell’s Vireo? - from Mike, Arizona

Hi. Could this bird be Bell’s Vireo? It has the faint eye line and “spectacles” and it seems to have just a hint of yellow on the wings, and face. The picture was taken June 7, 2008 in the Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area, north Maricopa County Arizona. So what do you think?

.

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Mike. I have to confess this one threw me. My feeling was that it was a young bird (the yellow gape suggested that) but I couldn’t think WHICH young bird. I was sure Bell’s Vireo could be ruled out because of the sharp, pointed bill and the ‘wrong’ feel, but otherwise I was stumped. I sent your image to a friend of mine in California, who contacted a local expert (step forward Mike Rogers) who has stated that this is in fact a juvenile Verdin. Once you know that, everything fits - the location and habitat (mesquite?) is right for Verdin, the size is similar to Bell’s Vireo, and the bill, legs, and colouration is all perfect for a young Verdin (if you have “Sibley” the painting of the juvenile Verdin on page 378 is extremely like your bird). I’m not sure what the “whisker” effect is: you didn’t mention it in your mail, so I’m guessing perhaps that it’s not a permanent feature and is caused temporarily by a combination of the angle of the bird to you as you took the photo and the feathers lifting as its head turns?

Juvenile cowbird? - from Holly, USA

I am watching a pair of Song Sparrows up close at my thistle feeder since I hung it at Easter. I’ve not seen any photos or descriptions of juveniles other than that they are similar to other species. I saw one of the sparrows bring a juvenile to my thistle feeder that’s a hop from the deck railing. The juvenile stayed on the railing begging and ruffling its feathers while the parent fed it thistle from the feeder. But, the fledgling was not striped, at least not yet, just smooth colored grayish brown,and seemed a little bigger than its parent. I wondered if a cowbird or other bird had switched out an egg, but it didn’t seem big enough to be a cowbird.

•  

  A: from Charlie

  It does sound very much like your sparrow is raising a cowbird (Song Sparrows are commonly parasitised by cowbirds). Young Song Sparrows are heavily streaked and well-marked birds. Having said that though young Cowbirds have quite ’scaly’ upperparts - the picture I’ve posted was taken in Seattle (where are you - east or west?), but eastern Cowbirds aren’t much different. Their underparts though are pretty much unmarked (as you describe). Younger birds of all species are a little smaller than adults until fully-grown so that may explain the perceived size difference.

  
  
  Juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird, Seattle, August. © Charlie Moores
  

   

  Follow-up from Holly:

• Thank you so much for your reply! I enjoyed your web site, very informational. I had seen a few cowbirds earlier in the year, mixed in with the grackles, looked them up to be sure. The picture you sent is very similar. I hope my sparrows get to raise some of their own young. We are in the St. Louis area, Missouri, still growing suburbia, just south of St. Peters. After I e-mailed you I did some more searches and found another site about sparrows that mentioned they are often the victim of parasitic cowbirds, so I decided that was probably it.

What owl is this? - from Jeanie, Brazil

I had a fabulous visitor in the house just recently, took us all by surprise - an owl! It was in the afternoon, and I don’t know who was more surprised, Mum at having a bird sitting on one of my pictures above her head - or the owl sitting on the picture above mums head! It was one of the smaller ones we have around here, but how wonderful were the eyebrows (real Dennis Healeys! - amazing) very much darker / black than its face feathers which were grey.

It sat there surveying us, it must have looked so comical if anyone could have seen us all.

It swooped around the room, each of us ducking and swept out of the kitchen door, and sat on the washing line - looked like it was collecting his thoughts - and flew off. I like to think it is the same one we see most evenings, sat high up on the gate post. An aunt who was staying with us said it was a sign of good luck, she is such a lovely lady, I think I will believe it!

Anyway, could you tell me which owl this was please?

• A: from Charlie

   

  Hi Jeanie. Now this is a sighting I’m envious of! I just love owls - such amazing birds. To see one this close and be able to appreciate the exquisite markings is a real treat - even if it is pooping in your house! This is a Tropical Screech Owl (have a look at http://www.owlpages.com), a very widespread species in South America, and is most probably a young bird that’s quite recently fledged (perhaps explaining how it got lost and ended up inside). As you say you regularly see small owls around you may have a nest nearby - perhaps in a tall tree in or near your garden (and probably fewer crickets and rodents in your kitchen as a result!).

What bird is this? - from Pam, western USA

Hello again, Since you helped me with the summer tanager I have just been visited by a family of 5 of these unknown birds .. I have never seen one before .. The mom and dad are about the size of a quail but have very long beaks like a hummingbird which are curved downward. They do not like to be photographed because the mom and dad and 2 of the babies flew off but I was lucky enough to have one baby just running around the yard so I snapped a few pictures of him. These birds fly and run very fast and they fluff and shake their feathers at the squirrels to make them move out of their way. Thanks for any help you can give me on these guys. You really helped on the summer tanager and once again these are not in my Northwest Indiana Book. Inserted a few pics for you. Thanks Pam

• A: from Charlie

   

  Hi Pam. Good to hear from you again. I’ve a feeling the 10,000 Birds Team might need to make a visit to your “yard” because it seems to have some great birds in it! Your photos clearly show an American Woodcock aka the ‘Timberdoodle’, a species of shorebird that has adapted to living in damp forests (which explains the wonderful nickname ‘Timberdoodle’) where it probes in the soft soil for earthworms and the like with that long bill. I would guess that few people reading this will have ever seen young American Woodcock as well as you just have - a great sighting, and thanks for sharing it with us.
  We’ve some photos of Woodcock on the blog at http://10000birds.com/a-timberdoodle-in-the-big-apple.htm

What bird is this? - from Norie, eastern USA

I will be posting this at my beaver creek lake blog.
What kind of bird is this? Saw some really neat behavior running away from the nest and doing funny things with her wings, as if she was wounded, perhaps to draw me away from endangering the eggs.

• A: from Charlie

   

  Hi Norie. This is the wonderful Killdeer Chardrius vociferus, a large plover that - as you noted - is renowned for what is known as the “broken wing display”. Nesting birds will do exactly as you describe if predators (or people) get too close to the eggs. The idea is that the predator (eg a fox or a cat) will probably not have noticed that the bird they’re stalking is actually sitting on eggs, and the Killdeer’s display is done to distract the animal away by pretending to be injured and therefore potentially an easy meal. The Killdeer flaps along the ground away from the eggs, the predator follows, and after leading it a suitable distance the Killdeer suddenly lifts into the air leaving the bemused animal behind. Once the predator has wandered off the Killdeer returns to its nest. Corey has a great series of posts on this blog talking about Killdeers and their nesting habits - have a look at http://10000birds.com/the-killdeer-hatched.htm for example.
  Incidentally Killdeers aren’t the only shorebirds to do this, but they often nest where people stumble across them and they’ve become the best known advocates of this remarkably complex behaviour - if you stop to think about it, it’s quite amazing that Killdeers et al “know” how to behave like an injured bird, “know” that a predator will follow an injured bird, “know” when it’s safe to take off, and “know” when it’s safe to return to the eggs.

  As for links Norie, we welcome them and thank you (and everyone else) who links to us, so please link away safe in the knowledge that we’re very grateful!

What bird is this? - from Lisa, Boston, Mass

I was browsing your website and was wondering if you could please help me identify this bird. I believe it may be a baby mockingbird. Thank you.

• A: from Charlie

   

  Hi Lisa. Your bird is certainly a Northern Mockingbird but I’m not sure whether I can say with any certainty that’s it’s a young one. It is fluffy and dishevelled like many young birds, but juvenile Mockingbirds have mottled breasts for a short time (between now and Sept) and buffy-edged tertials and I’m afraid the photo’s not quite sharp enough to make those out. Do you have a bird-bath or a small pond? It could be that this dishevelled look results from the bird being wet…Sorry I can’t be more specific.

What bird is this? - from Sara, Bahamas

I’d like help in identifying a bird. We live on Culberts Point, The most Eastern point of New Providence. We sometimes see an unusual looking bird HOVERING high above the vacant lot next door, looking like a flying cross. It seems dark brown. It then banks sharply and disappears.

I once saw from our balcony what I think is the same sort of bird, perched on a high tree branch. It seemed to have large “owl eye” markings on the BACK of its head, a rather parrot like beak and very big feet. The only references I can find for hovering would be a kestrel or an osprey. but nothing mentions the owl eye like markings which are VERY distinctive, at least in my memory. I will try to get a photo.

• A: from Charlie

   

  Sara. I’ve not been to the Bahamas, but coincidentally my colleague Graham Langley - an excellent birder - has just come back from there. I mailed him your question, and he has just replied:

  “There are VERY few raptors on New Providence. The Golden Rule in all these “I saw a strange bird” queries is look at the common birds first. In summer by FAR the commonest is “Cuban” sparveroides subspecies of American Kestrel. This has a pale head with the cheek and auricular black stripes very reduced. The back of the auricular strip is reduced to a black spot on each side (unlike the nominate race that has one dark spot on the nape) so from the back it looks just like two eyes.”

  Assuming your bird is quite small, I’m sure that Graham will be absolutely right!

What bird is this? - from Mary Anne, California

Came across your website looking for answers. Was up all night listening to a bird that kept “singing” all night. It being hot here in Temecula, CA, our window was open and I had to finally shut it at 2AM so I could sleep. Thought maybe a neighbor had a bird caged outside. This morning I could still hear the bird. Went out to the back yard and saw the bird flying from tree to tree with other birds around it not looking too happy, especially the humming birds. I tried to capture a picture but it was too far. In flight I saw it had a dark body with white-tipped wings and a fan-like tail that is also white-tipped. Looked like it had a “crown” on it’s head. Most likely a male species. I explained the sound it made and someone said it may be a mockingbird but, upon looking at your photos, that is not what I saw. It did have the variety of songs from chirping to squawking…all night long. Any answers?

•  

  A: from Charlie

  Hi Mary Anne. I’d stake my house on your bird being a Northern Mockingbird! We’ve quite a thread running on the blog concerning Mockingbirds - if it helps you’re not the only person to be kept awake at the moment by a lovelorn male trying to attract a mate (have a look at http://10000birds.com/mockingbirds.htm and you’ll see what I mean).
  Turning to the identification specifically, when you’re trying to ID a bird it helps to concentrate more on the “positives” rather than the “negatives”. What I mean by that is that if every feature fits Northern Mockingbird except for one (in this case a “crown”) it’s very likely to be a mockingbird. Every birder I know has made an ID more complicated than it need be by trying to find something “wrong” rather than looking at what’s “right”: your description of a bird that sings all night in the spring and “in flight…had a dark body with white-tipped wings and a fan-like tail that is also white-tipped” is close enough to be sure that you’ve seen a mockingbird.

What bird is this? - from Jayne, USA

I’ve been seeing this beautifully colored bird quite regularly lately and not knowing what it is, is driving me crazy. Its head, face and back are a really brilliant blue with slight violet tones; red-orange chest and cream belly. Also saw two red hummingbirds. Please let this casual bird watcher know what she’s watching is real!

• A: from Charlie

   

  Hi Jayne. What you’re watching is indeed real, and one of the gems of the North American birding scene: a male bluebird. Depending on where you live you could be seeing either Eastern Bluebird or Western Bluebird - though from your description of the bird having a fully blue head it seems you’re in the west and seeing a Western?
  Here’s a photo of one I took in Los Angeles a while back: look like your bird?

  
  
  Male Western Bluebird Sialia mexicana: Los Angeles, April.
  

  Your hummingbirds will - again assuming you live in the west of North America - most probably be either Rufous or Allen’s. The male Rufous is as its name suggests almost entirely a rufous-red colour (though many do have a greenish back), while Allen’s is more strongly green above: sometimes the two are very difficult to separate even when you’re watching them, so - apologies - but I’m not going to be able to be more specific. Hummingbirds are amazing birds though - have a look at Hummingbirds.net for a wealth of interesting facts and details.

How can I help a baby bird? - from Lisa, NC, USA

Hi, I’m desperate! To make a long story short, I am a pet sitter in Wilmington, NC. I have been taking care of two dogs and one large German Shepard/Huskie. Well, there’s a robin’s nest in a large ligustrum (privet) shrub near the house and the large dog got a hold of it. One of the baby birds died, but the other one is still alive. It does not have its eyes open yet, but it opens its beak a lot but can’t vocalize that it’s hungry. I put the live baby back in the nest and relocated it to a tall shrub in the front yard in a secure location. I saw the mother in the nearby tree but it was difficult for me to get her attention. Do you suppose she saw where I put it? Will she come back for the baby or should I do something different. It really upset me because this large dog is just visiting my usual two docile dogs and the bird nest was there long before this visiting dog arrived! Please help - I look forward to your response…

• A: from Mike

   

  Hi Lisa. The best thing to do would be to replace the robin’s nest where it was originally. That will maximize the chance that the mother will return to care for the chick. I understand that the visiting dog might make returning the nest to its original site difficult. However, it is the best way to ensure that the parents return. You can place it elsewhere but I’m not sure how likely it is that the robin chick will be cared for. Please keep us posted.

What baby bird is this? - from Judi, France

I found a baby bird out in the forest on Monday and have been feeding it earth worms, flies, other non threatening-looking insects and cooked quinoa. It appears to be doing well, but for its left wing that looks like it was damaged (missing feathers and smaller than right wing). This bird - pic attached but blurry - was found near Rodez in the region of Aveyron in France.

I think it might be an olivebacked pipit but it has yellow tail feathers coming out which does not appear to be a characteristic of the olivebacked pipit. It has a whitish breast w/dark specks. The legs are grey. Any ideas what kind of bird this is?

• A: from Charlie

   

  Hi Judi. Your young bird is a Golden Oriole (and I would think a male), one of my favourite birds anywhere. There’s a photo with nestlings at http://orientalbirdimages.org/images/data/triplet__golden_oriole__anand_arya.jpg

  On your bird note the thick bill, dark wings, and yellow tail which rule out any pipit (incidentally, if it had been an Olive-backed Pipit - a much smaller bird - it would have been the first record of the species breeding in Europe!). Young orioles are streaked underneath exactly as you describe. Orioles are typically found in forest and you may have heard their fluting “ooo-wee-ooo” calls?

What bird have I just seen? - from Dale, NJ, USA

We saw a bright orange bird this Sat. at the new jersey shore (near Point Pleasant) - we cannot find it in our books or on the web. It has a black head, bright orange body and bright yellow beak - my husband insists that it was the size of a medium blackbird - I believe it was smaller - does anyone out there know what this was? Thank you very much.

• A: from Charlie

   

  Hi Dale. Your description sounds pretty much perfect for Baltimore Oriole, one of the most colourful birds you could wish to see. We’ve a photo gallery on the blog at http://10000birds.com/baltimore-orioles-canada.htm - have a look there and see if we’re right!

What bird have I just seen? - from Brent, Pittsburgh USA

Hi, we live in western PA.(north of pittsburgh), anyway we have a pair of birds (with nesting babies, four of them) that we can’t identify. they are kind of similar to a mockingbird but larger, approx. the size of a bluejay.It has a pretty long tail maybe six or seven in. fairly long legs, gray in color, darker wings with a white band visible when it flies. also has long beak and squacks a lot when we get close to nest (nesting in very prickly bush close to house). it is a very aggressive bird, dive bombing us every chance it has when were close, to the point of actually making contact; also their seems to be no spots or markings on the breast area. could it be thrasher of some kind? any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks a lot.

• A: from Charlie

   

  Hi Brent. I think your bird is most likely to be a Northern Mockingbird - the behaviour and the white band in the wing is very typical for the species. Size is very difficult to judge without a lot of comparative experience, and a dive-bombing bird that’s deliberately puffed-up to look bulkier and more intimidating will seem larger than you might expect. The only thrasher species in your area would be the Brown Trasher - a heavily-streaked, chestnutty-brown bird that is altogether shier and less aggressive than a mockingbird defending its young.
  Incidentally, if it helps you’re not alone in encountering hormone-driven mockingbirds - we’ve a page at http://10000birds.com/mockingbirds.htm that is definitely worth having a look at.

What ducks are these? - from Rehana, Seattle, USA

I live in Seattle and saw these ducks the other day. Do you have any idea what they might be? None of the lists of ducks I can find on the web include them.

• A: from Charlie

   

  Hi Rehana. I certainly do know what your ducks are. They are what I termed some years back “Manky Mallards” - domestic mallards with very muddled-up genes! They will be genetically 100% Mallard (so not Mallard hybrids which would mean another duck species is involved) but the result of years of various forms of domestic and wild Mallards mating and producing more and more variable offspring.
  I started a feature page of these ducks which has grown and grown as I keep finding or being sent photos of distinct individuals: it’s at http://10000birds.com/manky-mallards-domestic-feral-or-just-plain-odd-mallards.htm and if you scroll about half-way down the page you’ll find a few photos of birds that look pretty much like yours.

Birds in Istanbul ID help please? - from Ambika, India

I was in Istanbul recently - I live in India - and birding was not on the agenda at all. But amidst all the Byzantine and Ottoman, we also saw the birds of the city, which though common there, are unfamiliar to me. I think I have identified the Hooded Crow, Cape Gull and Common Starling correctly, but if you could please take a look and reconfirm, I would be ever so grateful!

The photos are at: http://madraswanderer.blogspot.com/2008/06/istanbul-dairy-of-polite-crows-and.html

Could you also give me some tips as to ho to upload the photos here, so I dont need to redirect you to my blog everytime? Thanks!!

• A: from Charlie

   

  Hi Ambika. Sounds like you’ve had a good holiday! I’m not an expert on the birds of Turkey by any means, but the gulls you’ve photographed are not Cape Gulls (which are very dark-backed and found in southern Africa) and I’m pretty certain they are all Yellow-legged Gulls (michahellis or cachinanns, but I’d need to really study them to be sure). The birds skimming over the water are Yelkouan Shearwaters, a Near Threatened species that congregates off the Turkish coast about this time of year. Not sure what the mosaic is meant to be - I’d guess a crane of some sort going by the tail feathers…

  I’m afraid we don’t have facilities to upload photos at the moment, sorry. We don’t moderate the blog full-time and there’s just so many spammers around at the moment that who knows what would end up on the site! Anyway, I don’t mind going to your blog, it’s very nice…

   

  Follow-up from Ambika:

  Thanks Charlie. I looked up the yellow-legged gulls, and yes, they seemed exactly what we saw! Thanks for the correction. I’ve added your comment at my blog as well.
  Shearwaters is it - wow! never seen them before.
  And Yes, we did have a good holiday!