Every month we sweep clean our main 10,000 Birds Clinic page and compile the questions and answers into a handy, bite-sized “round-up”.

Please feel free to add additional comments to the published answers - we’re all on the same learning curve round here - and if you’ve a question you’d like to put to the team please go to the Clinic Page.

Unidentified bird - from Paula, Utah

Posted by Charlie on behalf of Paula

Hi. I found your site while looking for someplace that could help me identify this bird. I saw it walking down the park strip near my home in Sandy Utah. I have not seen one like it before. It seems a bit larger than a pigeon. Any information you can provide would be great. Thanks

• Hi Paula. Great picture! This lovely bird is a Chukar - a species of partridge native to southern Europe and western parts of Asia. Chukars were first introduced into the US in 1893 as a game bird, and have more or else established themselves throughout hilly areas in the southwest. Populations are still regularly boosted by releases, so I don’t know whether your bird would be a recent release or part of a population that’s established in your area (maybe a 10,000 Birds reader in Utah could let us know). In the ‘wild’ Chukars are very wary indeed (I’ve seen them - from a distance - in southern Europe) and a truly wild bird certainly wouldn’t behave like this, so it may well be that someone close to you is raising Chukars and releasing them for hunting.

Specled bird ID needed - from Kathy, Totonto

Posted by Charlie on behalf of Kathy

I’ve just recently found your site — it is truly amazing! We live in a rural area of Toronto, Ontario, close to a huge parkland/ravine, and we have a wonderful time enjoying the birds and trying to identify them by sight and sound. We have good success, but this one has stumped us a bit.

She/he hangs out with the robins, but is SO fat and lazy. Very slow moving — will sit in the mulberry tree, or on the lawn for hours. I thought she is either a very pregnant robin or some kind of a thrush with the speckled breast. My sister insists that it is a juvenile robin — if so, a very lazy one! Would sure appreciate your help.

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Kathy. Your sister is correct - this is indeed a juvenile American Robin. By happy coincidence your question and great photos arrived just as I was writing a post about identifying juvenile birds and I think if I refer you to that you may find it useful (I hope so anyway): the post is at - http://10000birds.com/scruffy-youths-and-spotty-adolescents.htm

Unidentified bird - from Jo, Indiana

I have noticed a bird quite frequently around my home lately. I have never seen one that looks like this and can’t find it in any of my bird books. I believe it might have a nest in a weeping apple that is very close to my house. It is a long slender bird, dark gray with black markings and a long tail very similar to a mockingbird..it has no white anywhere on it’s body. It’s very talkative and doesn’t seem to be too afraid of me. I’m in northwest Indiana. I first thought it might be a northern mockingbird…..but thought those had white markings. Thanks for any help you can give. Jo

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Jo. I think your bird is probably a Grey Catbird which is dark grey with a blackish cap and reddish undertail (which you might not have noticed). It’s in the same family (Mimidae) as the Northern Mockingbird and is a similarly exuberant vocalist (though not so remarkable a mimic). The species is called ‘catbird’ because it has a mewing, cat-like call - have you heard that at all?

  I’d be very interested to know if I’m right - it always helps to refine our answers if we can get an idea whether we’re interpreting the questions sent to us correctly!

   

  Follow-up from Jo

  Hi Charlie. That is it! I looked it up online once you suggested the gray catbird………and the picture of it is definitely what I saw. The darned thing is gone now. I haven’t seen it for several days now. Sure was entertaining while it was here. Thanks so much for your help……Jo

Unidentified bird - from John, north-western US

I just saw a woodpecker similar to a northern flicker, but black, with orange stripes on the wings. What is it? Not shown in the birds of Puget Sound! Thanks

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi John. There are so few birds with “orange stripes on the wings” that I wonder if what you saw was a Varied Thrush rather than a woodpecker? It’s quite a wary forest bird normally and you may have seen it rocket off a tree like a woodpecker as it flew off. The only other remotely likely suggestion I can come up with is Red-breasted Sapsucker: I saw one in Seattle a few months ago and though it hasn’t got orange in the wings in a brief view of a flying bird the impression you may get is of a dark woodpecker with flashes of orangey-red.
  If anyone else has a better idea please feel free to comment.

Sparrow-like bird - from Freda, Kentucky

I live in Scottsville, Ky which is SE of Bowling Green. I just spotted a bird that I don’t find in the bird books. Could be a young bird. Looked to be about the size of a female cardinal, was colored up like a sparrow with all the stripes(on it’s head too) with a white throat and yellow breast. I kept looking at it til it flew away wondering what it could be. Any ideas?

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Freda. I’m wondering if what you saw was a female Dickcissel. They do breed in good numbers in Kentucky, and females certainly have the sort of pattern and colour you mention (notably the white throat and yellow breast). Could this be your bird?

   

  Follow-up from Freda

  Thanks for the ID on the bird. I thought it kinda looked like that bird, but the book I have doesn’t give a good description of the females…practically no description!! It would be helpful in a book that the author would include not only a description, but a photo or a drawing of both birds and the younger ones too.

  Thanks again. Hopefully I will get another look at my new friend sometime soon.

Bird tattoo ID - from Sean, Victoria Australia

My name is Sean, My dad has a bird tattoo he got when he was 17 and i am going to get a similar tattoo but i need to know what type of bird it is in his tattoo. Not sure if you could help me but i thought you would have a better idea then me.

The attached photo is not great quality but hopefully provides enough detail to identify the bird. I have done some research and I think it may be some type of swallow or bluebird.

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Sean. Not too much trouble at all.
  I’ve put your photo through PhotoShop to see it better. As far as I can tell the tattoo is of a hummingbird taking nectar from the flower on a tropical creeper. I don’t think it’s a particular species of hummingbird though (the colours don’t match anything I know) and it’s much more likely that the tattoo artist created a sort of generic, generalised hummingbird rather than an actual one. Many tattoo artists aren’t birders of course and use a photo and the inks available to match up to the client’s skin tones rather than attempt an actual species. If you take your photo (or dad!) when you get yours done you could probably get something similar, though the artist may well have a whole page of designs of his/her own to show you.

Aggressive yardbirds - from Linda, eastern US

The strange thing is that we have found empty ground nests and can only attribute that to these birds. Is there any way to encourage them to move on? Will this behavior stop after mating/nesting season, or are we going to be unable to use our yard the rest of the summer? Do not want to harm these birds but they are getting totally out of hand.

 

• A: from Corey

  To make sure that the birds are mockingbirds check out Mike’s definitive post.

  Mockingbirds can be quite the terror! Try using a water gun to scare them off when they are actively attacking…hopefully, their behavior will change. Probably only one (or maybe two) will stick around as I imagine the new recruits you’ve noticed are probably fledglings (and getting bad lessons on interpersonal relationships from their aggressive parents, apparently). Their aggressiveness should fade as breeding season ends and the young disperse, but mockingbirds have been known to vigorously defend a winter food supply. Remember, while you see the mockingbirds as invading your yard they see the situation the same way but reversed!

  One other thing…I haven’t come across reference to mockingbirds being ground nesters so it seems unlikely that they are responsible for the nests you found (and it is also unlikely that more than one pair of mockingbirds is nesting in your yard unless you have a huge yard).

Unidentified birds - from Don and Marge, California

Posted by Charlie on behalf of Don and Marge

We’re California birders who were visiting relatives in northern NY state. We saw this (these) birds on a farm just north of Lowville, NY. about a week ago. It seems that there were two birds, the one in the tree looks more mature than the one on the post. In any case, we have been unable to find a bird in Sibley that is close to this. Can you help us out?

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Don and Marge. This may surprise you but what you’ve got here is either one or two female (or juvenile female) Red-winged Blackbirds. Eastern birds are paler and appear more contrasting than many of the western “bicoloured blackbirds” you’re perhaps more used to seeing: I’ve certainly noticed how dark many western blackbirds look when I go to California compared with eastern birds. Sibley does actually illustrate both forms (on page 513), but without seeing them for yourselves in the field it’s hard to appreciate how different they can look.

Unidentified duck - from Diane, Maine

Posted by Charlie on behalf of Diane

Hi there- My friend and I have been scratching our head over this picture. She took it over the 4th of July week at a lake in Maine. Can you identify it?

Photo copyright Tammy Allen

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Diane. I sure can identify your and Tammy’s bird. This is a Muscovy Duck - originally a native of Mexico but now widely domesticated and found on lakes and ponds all over the place!

  We’ve a few photos (eg the one below) showing the colour variety that Muscovies now come in on the blog at http://10000birds.com/manky-mallards-domestic-feral-or-just-plain-odd-mallards.htm (you’ll need to scroll down to the bottom of a long page to find them).

  
  
  “Curly-haired” domestic Muscovy Duck - UK, June 2008.
  Photo © Charlie Moores
  

Juvenile Cliff Swallows - from Pat, Oregon

we live in Dexter, Oregon. a cliff swallow nest fell from our barn. two nestlings died, but two fledglings survived the fall, but were too young to leave on the ground for the parents to care for. 10 days later they are about ready for me to set out on a ledge close to the barn from which they fell. however, one of them has lost one wing feather, second or third from the outer edge of the wing. will this prevent the bird from being able to fly well enough to survive ? if so, i will take it to the local rehab center until it grows another. i so wanted them to be released together at the barn so they would be with their parents flock, and they seem very attached to each other. will they be able to feed themselves as well or do i need to take meal worms out to the ledge we made for them next to the barn?

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Pat. You seem to have done a great job nurturing these two swallows for so long - well done. I wouldn’t be too concerned about your birds losing the odd feather (unless they are losing clumps of them or you can see that the loss is caused by an infestation of feather mites - it’s difficult to see the mites with the naked eye, but the feather shafts will have tiny holes in them and the whole bird can look tatty and ‘moth-eaten’) as birds can still fly with lost feathers: moulting birds seem able to fly okay with banks of feathers lost and no tails for example! The feathers will grow back soon enough. After ten days in your care the parents may well not ‘recognise’ their young and return to feeding them, so feed them mealworms by all means, though please don’t put out dried mealworms: dry foods can absorb so much water in the stomach that they swell and block the intestines of small birds (this includes dry bread).

  Hopefully if the young birds can fly they’ll start to find their own food quite quickly. If you get a chance please let us know how they get on!

Hybrid duck? - from Sandy, Vancouver

Posted by Charlie on behalf of Sandy

Hello, here are a few photos I took on 7/11/08, at Klineline Pond in Vancouver, Washington. The duck was swimming around with a regular male Mallard. No idea what is was, except some sort of oddly-colored Mallard. Excellent site, feel free to use these photos however you’d like!

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Sandy. Interesting photos - thanks for sending them in.
  I think this is probably a Mallard x Muscovy Duck hybrid. The head shape and bill length is wrong for a domestic Mallard of any type I can think of (the smooth curve to the rounded nape isn’t right, and the bill is too long); there seems to be a slight white/pale mark behind the eye which seems typical of this hybrid; there is a hint of a white neck collar which also appears to be usual; the dark plumage with the green-glossed feathers seem typical too. The colour of the bill is unusual for the hybrids I’ve seen (or have photos of) but I suspect that it’s well
  within variation - they tend to be pinker, but who knows what genetics will create! The tail feathers are often ’sharper’ and longer in this hybrid, but again that may - along with the bill - be a result of the Mallard genes being more strongly represented. I’m not an expert on these birds by any means (and I doubt anyone would - or should - claim to be 100% sure that they know what every Mallard x Muscovy hybrid will look like) but I think that it’s the likely answer.

Black ‘parrots’? - from Jeannie, Brazil

These are the birds I think were chasing the Ruddy Ground Doves the other day, they certainly were this morning! Once again the dogs let me know something was amiss, and these birds were in a particular coconut tree where I know the Doves live.I let the dogs do there bit - barking furiously and the group of black ‘parrot’ birds went and sat on the wires down the road - me following hot foot with an albeit very simple camera - no zoom to speak of, but I do hope you can take a closer look.

As long as I have lived here you see this small flock of birds, I am calling them parrots (until you put me right!!) because of their rounded hooky beaks and long tails. I have previously been told not to invite them into the garden because they would strip the fruits. There is plenty of other places they can go!

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Jeanie. What you’re describing here are a band of Smooth-billed Ani - a bird related to cuckoos, but without the typical cuckoo habit of laying eggs in other birds nests (which is called ‘brood parasitism’ by the way). I remember often seeing groups of these birds by the roadside in Brazil (they’re found from Florida down to Argentina by the way). Zooming in on your photos seem to show the typical humped bill - which is undoubtedly what made you think of parrots! I don’t think they’ll do any harm to any of the birds in your garden - they’re boisterous but not violent as far as I know - but they are voracious eaters so your fruiting plants may suffer!

Birds on thistle feeder? - from Denise, Texas

Any chance that you can identify a pair of birds I caught on my finch feeder (thistle-seed) which is usually neglected when my other feeders are full? I live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and spotted these two in July. They both looked like cardinals — bright orange beaks, crest on the top of their heads, smaller and not so plump, BUT they had quite a bit of brown mixed in with shades of red — no distinct pattern; these birds were not the brilliant red of the other cardinals I have hanging around and there was no black contrast at the beak. Are they simply young cardinals and will eventually turn bright red, or is this another bird entirely? Thank you!

 

• A: from Mike

  Hi Denise! Yes, the birds you describe are either female or juvenile cardinals. Beautiful, aren’t they?

What do I feed a baby flycatcher? - from Jaye, US

Hey if anyone is out there I have a baby fly catcher and im in desperate need of what to do. he eats bugs but i have to force feed. crickets are what i use. also i have a question… how do you keep them hydrated…and also fed? hes very little….fully feathered. And hes going down hill as i care for him. i have raised many sparrows magpies, crows, starlings, pigeons etc. PLEEZE HELP ME!!!! im nervous. he almost was bull snake food in his nest and he leapt from the tree and i could not get him back up there. that is why i have him.

 

• A: from Mike

  Jaye, on our phoebe post, a reader recommended Kaytee Exact hand feeding formula for young flycatchers. Ground beef and dog food are also options for these insectivores.

Bird ID needed - from Mike, Arizona

I saw the attached birds today. Could the first one be a Greater Pewee? It has the grayish wing bars, there is a crest. But can it be found this far north? Sibley’s map makes it look like it could be found here, but other sources say it is only is found SE Arizona. The other one I have no idea. The bill seems like a Thrasher’s but the coloring I can’t match to anything. The pictures were taken at Pioneer Village, Phoenix Arizona. Pioneer Village is a “Old Western” tourist town located in northern Maricopa County.

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Mike. Interesting photos as always.

  Your top bird is not a pewee but one of the Myiarchus flycatchers. Unlike pewees all Myiarchus look ‘long’, have rufous in the tail, rufous in the wing, and relatively heavy bills (note too that Greater Pewees show noticeably orange lower mandibles - a feature you can see from quite a distance in my experience, and one which would show in this photo). It’s not any use here, but if this bird was facing the other way you’d also see a strong contrast between a greyish throat and yellowish belly which would also rule out Greater Pewee.

  It’s not easy separating the four Myiarchus species from a single photo, and on range I think I’m right in saying that three of them - Dusky-capped, Brown-crested and Ash-throated - would be possible in Maricopa County: the thick bushy crest and long bill (from what can be seen) point to Brown-crested rather than Ash-throated, and the extensive rufous in the tail should rule out Dusky-capped. There is some debate over whether it’s possible or not to separate these species just using the pattern of rufous in the tail feathers, but I wouldn’t be confident of doing that on one photo - especially in this view. A diagnostic separation feature would be the call: if you see a “tricky” flycatcher-type again try and make a note of the call and that’ll usually lead you (or us) to the right bird…

  Your other bird is a little more straightforward, and is one of my favourite desert birds - the Cactus Wren (which, incidentally, is the State bird of Arizona). You’ll normally hear Cactus Wrens before you see them - listen out for a raucous chattering as a group of wrens crash about the undergrowth. If you’d like more info and photos we have a page on the blog at http://10000birds.com/cactus-wrens.htm

   

  Follow-up from Nate (www.thedrinkingbird.blogspot.com)

  I agree with your call on BC Flycatcher Charlie, the habitat is right as well.

  In fact I wrote a post about just this thing a few months ago using skins at the local museum if it may help: http://thedrinkingbird.blogspot.com/2008/03/my-oh-myiarchus-post-for-jochen.html

   

  Follow-up from Charlie

  Hi Nate. I’d forgotten you’d posted about Great-crested and Brown-crested Flycatchers - thanks for reminding me: very helpful. Both the tails you show in your post look like adults - do you know if the pattern holds up for young birds too?

   

  Follow-up from Nate (www.thedrinkingbird.blogspot.com)

  I can’t be sure of that. We only had adults of the western Myiarchus to compare and I don’t have any personal experience with juvis of those birds to speak of. If they’re like GCs I’d expect the pattern to hold up for the most part, but I don’t know for certain.

Costa Rican bird ID - from Jill, US

Thanks for any help,

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Jill. Ah, Costa Rica - I’ve never been there. Your bird sounds very interesting. The nearest I can find is Orange-billed Sparrow - but I don’t think it has reddish upperparts: maybe the bird looked darker because it was in the shade/shadows? Hopefully one of our readers will help us provide an answer for you…

   

  Follow-up from Patrick (http://www.hawkowlsnest.com)

  Sounds like Orange-billed Sparrow to me too. I can’t think of anything similar. There’s a photo on Wikipedia that shows that this species can look ‘reddish’ at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange-billed_Sparrow

   

  Follow-up from Jill

  Seeing this pic that shows the dark belly and the brownish hue (book shows the birds as green) and given my top view that could have skewed the amount of white striping on the head I thought I saw I think you guys nailed this one. You’re awesome! Whew. Now I can sleep at night

Nesting birds in chimney flue - from Victoria, US

We have a nest of little song birds on top of the flue of our 2 story chimney. The mom is flying in and out with no problem. Will the babies be able to fly out eventually?

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Victoria. I wouldn’t worry, before we came along and built houses etc many birds originally nested in holes in tree trunks or on cliffs and are adapted to this sort of situation - the young birds will strengthen their flight muscles with plenty of vigorous wing-flapping before they attempt to leave the nest and will cope just fine. One thing you might be aware of though: if the young birds fell out of the nest would they drop down behind a closed off fireplace or would you be able to get to them? Young birds often ‘explore’ their immediate surroundings before fledging and you may need to rescue one of them at some point! Hopefully that won’t happen but it might be worth keeping a kindly eye on them just in case!

Texas raptor ID - from Cathy, Texas

I just saw a pair of raptors I have never seen before. I live in Houston, Texas near a bayou and see numerous waterfowl. But today, as I was playing with my dog in the back yard, I noticed the medium sized to large duo. What caught my attention were their scissor-shaped tails! They were mostly white with the outline of their wings black. One had just caught lunch, which looked like a field mouse or a baby bird. Can you help me with the identification? The tail was what was so unusual.
By the way, I have really enjoyed this website! I had to read several of the letters before I remembered what I had started out to do! Thanks!

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Cathy. You’ve just given as good a description of a Swallow-tailed Kite as I could need! The forked tail and black outline of the wing (formed by the contrast between the dark flight feathers and the white coverts) make this beautiful bird of prey unmistakeable. In the US it’s found along the Texas Gulf coast along to Florida. Great sighting and not something the 10,000 Birds Team get to see very often (hardly ever would be more accurate in fact!).

   

  Follow-up from Cathy

  Thank you, Charlie, for your quick response! Wow! That’s pretty exciting! Of course I’ll probably be scanning the sky for their return for weeks….!

Strange duck - from Debby, North Carolina

Hi Charlie,

Hope you can help. I took this at Lake Norman, NC about 2 weeks ago. It was mingling around plain old regular ducks and really stood out! Thank you!

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Debby. Yes I can help, as that’s definitely a Muscovy Duck, and one not too far off what the original Mexican birds looked like. They’re sort of ugly but striking and noble at the same time aren’t they!

Is this a Mallard hybrid? - from Debbie, New Jersey

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Debbie. Well done for getting this handsome chap (the unmarked greeny yellow bill says ‘male’) in mid-flap - it’s very helpful to be able to get a good look at the speculum (the glossy purple and white patch on the innerwing) when you’re trying to ID a duck as each species has their own distinctive pattern and it’s possible for both us and other ducks to work out - in most cases - which species is involved by looking at them (ducks use the speculum as one way to identify each other when they’re flying in flocks, for instance). Mallards usually show a bluer speculum than this, but the blue can look purple from certain angles and in certain lights so I would think is within the normal range of a Mallard. The pattern of the speculum - ie the glossy feathers framed by white bars and outlined with black - is perfectly typical of a Mallard though. Based on that I think it’s very likely indeed that your bird is 100% Mallard - therefore a domestic “manky mallard” rather than a hybrid of any sort.

  How he ended up looking like this is anyone’s guess, but - you’re right - he’s a looker!

Bird Guide needed in Nairobi - from Jack, US

Hi Charlie. I’ll be spending 2 days in Nairobi prior to and 2 days after a trip to Uganda. Have you ever hired a guide/driver in the Nairobi area? If so would you kindly advise a contact. Do you have any suggestions.

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Jack

  Last time I was in Nairobi (in June) I hired Shailesh Patel, who was excellent and was a reasonable price too. I’m not sure how long he’ll be in NBO as he was looking to come to the UK at some point I think, but if you can reach him he’s well worth hiring.

  His email address is honeyguide_sk@yahoo.com

Unusual garden bird, UK - from Chris, Manchester

Posted by Charlie on behalf of Chris

Hi Charlie,

My father sent me 3 pictures of a bird visiting his feeder in the garden. He lives near Manchester in the UK - we suspect it is an escapee but maybe you could help identify it.

Thanks in advance

 

• A: from Charlie

  Hi Chris. Great photos. Strangely enough this is a bird I only saw and photographed last week myself - but in Nigeria! It’s a male Northern Red Bishop, sometimes called Orange Bishop (your bird is actually much more orange than mine - the photo’s at http://10000birds.com/so-howd-abuja-suit-ya.htm). They are kept as cagebirds and - as you suspect - it will be an escape. Nice bird to find in your garden though!