Anyone know their wild birds?

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user 78

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I was outside tending the garden when the oddest looking bird perched on the fence. It had a cardinal red chest, a dusky brick back, and it looked like grey head feathers, though they may have been some random shade of brown. The head wasn't smooth, it almost looked like it had no head feathers. About the size of a robin or so. Of course by the time I ran inside to grab my camera and rushed back out, he had flown off into the pine trees.

When I first saw it, I got all upset thinking someone had let loose a domesticated bird, but I've never seen one that looked like this before.Anyone have any ideas? I've looked through some basic bird watching and ID sites, but nothing seems to match.
 
Not a Grosbeak? They tend to have a black back...I'm rusty here but I could swear I can picture a red breasted, dusty brick back, bird in my book...which is at the farm. And by no head feather you mean bald? o.o
 
No, not a grosbeak. It was larger than that.. The closest thing I've come to it is a Summer Tanager, but they've got bright red heads..

And yea, it almost looked like it was bald, but you don't see many song birds with grey skin so I'm hoping that it was just grey or brown feathers.
 
It could be a juvenile cardinal (female) or a female going through a molt. That is more likely as she might have just had her brood in the last month or so?
 
If it had black around the eyes, it could have been a cedar waxwing ….. they are really pretty!
 
I'll definitely get back to you, when I'm up north, because I know I've seen that in my bird book. Or at least my interpretation of what this bird looks like, haha. Did you see what the beak was shaped like?

I love birding. :D
 
A friend suggested it could have been an immature cardinal... or perhaps even a cardinal with some parasite/disease that was [somehow] only attacking it's head.. :roll: Maybe it could have been, but it just didn't look like a Cardinal for some reason, though I can't pinpoint why exactly, because it's not just the lack of crest..

Definitely not an Oriole, no black on the body. The body was Red, even the back was a very Red brown, just more like a brick red than cardinal red. No crest to speak of.. It looked just like a largish male cardinal, just with a grey/brown head and no crest. So maybe the immature/sick cardinal theory is starting to stick.. Hrmm..

Thanks Bron! I only have "beginner" feeder bird watching type books, nothing that goes into any real detail or variety, and most of the birds are the ridiculously common.
 
The thing that sort of blows the immature theory out of the water is the bright red plumage. It was adult Red, not the immature or female yellow/brown/red
 
I saw that, and it's pretty close to what I saw. If it had a grey/brown head, it'd be dead on. Though everything I read on them said they're treetop type birds and don't come down much.
 
Oh whoops, I was definitely including a white belly which isn't what you said. : x A summer tanager would be so neat! I've only seen a pair of scarlet tanagers, and only once ever. Which wouldn't be what you saw but it was definitely exciting! ;)
 
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I'm thinking this isn't your bird but it's what came to mind. : / In my bird guide the photo is much much redder.
 
No.. Don't think that was him. The white on the underside and the markings on the wings are off.

After much researching, annoying friends, and having my face plastered to the kitchen windows, I think I did in fact see a Summer Tanager. A friend of mine who lives further north and around more woods says some of the males have a duskier head than the pictures I've seen. That may account for why I thought it was a grey/brown. He said the rest of my description is dead on for the Tanager, though.
 
Very interesting sighting! You must get some interesting birds down there. I was looking at the Summer Tanager drawings in the Sibley Guide to Birds. It says that the females can have orange plumage and that the eastern birds are darker than western birds.
 
During the migration seasons it can get pretty interesting. We've recently expanded our bevy of feeders and types of seed, so we're getting all kinds of birds I've only just read about. We have a red tail hawk that has a nest somewhere close by - we can see them teaching the little ones to fly and dive, so it must be pretty darn close. They've been around for the past 4yrs or so. The absolute best, though, was the pelican that decided someone's water feature was yummy. He was as big as one of my dogs, and his wingspan was amazing. He just perched on the roof and "barked" back at the dogs. I nearly had a heart attack the first time I saw him.
 
They're doing so much land development in my area that they're destroying a good number of natural habitats. Suburbanites put in fully stocked ponds and such, and we get all kinds of wildlife coming through. We've also been in a drought for the last couple of years [ :roll: wettest friggin drought I've ever seen ] so that may be why so many animals are coming in. The nearest lakes and wooded areas are only 15-30min away, so not that far if you're flying.
 
How exciting to see a Summer Tanager. :) I've seen a pair of Scarlet Tanagers which my mother didn't believe until I showed her my photos. ;) Watching little hawks learn to fly would be incredible. We have a lot of red tailed hawks up here. Actually a lot of birds of prey....period. I have to watch my baby starling carefully when I take him out to let him wander!
 

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