Monday, July 10, 2006

A big brown bird

I saw a bird last night that was big--say, robin-sized--and pretty much light dusty grayish-tan all over. No marks on chest, no visible wing bars, no visible marks of any kind. Breast was slightly lighter than wings and back, but certainly not white or even cream. I have a feeling it was a female, due to the drab coloring, but I don't know what it's a female of.

Maybe a female brown thrasher? No--they have striping on their breasts.

Maybe a female kingbird? Don't think so, but I can't find a decent photo of a female, so I can't be sure.

Any guesses? I realize my description isn't too great, but I'd like to know. The whatbird.com site only offered 197 guesses after punching in "perching-like" and tan, brown, and buff for color. I began to get a little overwhelmed. Wrentit? Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler Fall? (uh, it's summer)

Perhaps some sort of thrush.

On the same day, I saw what I presume to be a male, a female, and a young Baltimore Oriole in the trees/thicket next to the house--the trees that separate the marsh from the road. This is prime birding area, but I have to move my Adirondack chair out into the middle of the yard to see everyone who flies around there. Still it was worth it.

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