A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Hobbies, Crafts and Creativity The Bird Lovers Forum Bird ID Please?

I don't have a picture, but I'd like to know if someone could tell me what kind of bird I just saw...

Smaller than a Robin, dark glossy black on top, white underneath with red on the sides just below where the wings rest(about the same color red as a Robin's breast), a few white places in the wings, and you could see a little white when it flicked it's tail.

Any ideas?

Annette

I Know EXACTLY what you have! You have given a PERFECT verbal description of a male Eastern Towhee. In older guides you might see them referred to as a Rufous-Sided Towhee. Same bird, new name. Here is a Picture I took of one back in June, 2008.


Eastern Towhee (Male)

So cool! That's deffinately him! Hubby thought it was a magpie, but I didn't think magpies had any red on them, not to mention...aren't they bigger???

Anyway, what can I do, what kind of seed can I set out, etc. to encourage him to stick around? I'd love to have him (and his mate when he finds one!) to nest somewhere nearby!

Annette

Try using a Wild Bird seed mixture spread on the ground. Towhees are ground feeders and like a variety of seed. AND, you can't go wrong with Black Oil Sunflower seed for ANY seed eaters (Birds and mammals).

beautiful picture Thornius.

We have NO Magpies in the East, only on the West Coast. I saw Magpies in Idaho when I was a boy. My daughter is engaged to a man from Scotland and when she goes to see him and his family she sends me back pictures of Magpies and other British Birds. The Australians have Magpies that have a really cool song, just ask Stevie_g on this forum. Crows, Jays, and Ravens are all relatives of Magpies and these three ARE found in the Eastern U.S.

You mention crows and ravens...how do you tell them apart?

I have flocks of whatever they are in my garden every morning! Big, solid black birds. LOL I guess right now they are enjoying whatever worms/bugs/seeds hubby has turned to the surface. I just hope they leave it alone when I start planting!

Annette

I've never seen a Raven in person to my knowledge, but they tend to be more solitary than Crows. Crows are EXTREMELY social birds often living in large flocks that can number in the HUNDREDS, whilst Ravens tend to live ALONE. Ravens are larger, Scruffier, with larger massive bills and hoarse gravely voices. Ravens tend to say the word, "Nevermore" a lot while Crows generally do not speak human languages. When it comes to Ravens, think of a WWF Crow on steroids.

Thanks, Thorn.

Now what about the common grackle? Isn't it their beak color and the irridescence of the feathers how to tell them from the crows?

LOL I'm gonna wear you out with questions! LOL

Annette

Common Grackles are about 1/3 the size of a crow and have yellow eyes and iridescent black feathers. Crows are much larger, have dark eyes, flat black feathers and thicker more powerful bills.

sounds like a red wing black bird maybe hard to say for sure without pics.

What a great-looking bird that Eastern Towhee is! Nothing to do with the fact that it's decked out in my football team colours (the Saints, that is)!!

LOL stevie_g!

I don't think I've ever seen the grackle around here, then. I was just curious!

Annette

Here Ya go!



COMMON GRACKLE

Around here we call them Wal Mart birds. The parking lot is full of them all year long. What a mess when they pick your car for a roost. the Red wing is a relative of the grackle but has red wing patches and white feathers in the tail and wings.

Nice pic, Thorn! They are such pretty birds. I love the irridescent colors!

I'm familiar with the red winged blackbird. Used to see them ALL the time when I lived in California!

Believe it or not, our "Wal Mart" birds are seagulls! And we are landlocked here! LOL Although there ARE an awful lot of pidgeons as well...

Annette

Your Walmart Gulls are Ring-Billed Gulls, a Summertime resident of the Great Lakes, Wintertime resident of the South and inland areas. We have tons of them here in Nashville right now.

Thorn, you never cease to amaze me! You must be the most knowledgeable person on birds that I "know"! LOL

Annette

They also like lakes and rivers especially near LARGE dams. They will often swoop down and catch treats in mid-air that you toss up to them. I find they like french fries (ESPECIALLY McDonald's, who doesn't?), peanuts, and bread crumbs. They are opportunistic omnivorous scavengers.

Nope not gulls these are common grackles all black in various shades. Our state bird is a gull so I know a gull when I see one. Utah is no where near the great lakes or south of them. Great tailed grackles I do believe noisy messy buggers.
They have been identified as carriers of the avian flue.

Yes, this is a Common Grackle, a sub-species of the Grackle family, You have the Great-Tailed Grackle in Utah, which is somewhat different from this one.