Saturday, June 14, 2008

Nameless

Today's Greeting

If you've seen my blog often, you've probably realized that I LOVE the ruffled feathers!

Not the best photo, but I just loved the soft, buttery yellow.


I just thought this was cute..


Hiding from the bluebirds..

The bird in the next two pictures is a mystery to me. When it first flew down to the feeder, I thought it was an immature RWBB - you can see the subtle orange on the shoulders, and the bill is right as well as the size; but what about the white collar and tail feathers? Anybody know?

Even the bill is mottled.


15 comments:

Jayne said...

Hmmm... that's a stumper Helen. My first thought was the Red Wing too, but then again... :c)

Sandpiper (Lin) said...

Wonderful pictures, Helen. The mystery bird looks a bit leucistic. I'm not sure what kind it is. I'll my friend if she will stop by. She's good with birds.

kjpweb said...

I go with juvenile Red Wing, though he might have missed school, when proper attire was taught! :)
Cheers, Klaus

brucesc said...

I agree with Sandpiper. An immature red-wing but leucistic--that's where the white comes from. Interesting--you'll be able to know him personally now every time he comes around.

Stacey Olson said...

Beautiful birds,, not sure what it is..

Mary said...

Your pictures are great and I like ruffled, too :-) I looked in my bird book and on-line and found nothing with that white throat. Certainly strange for a Redwing!

NCmountainwoman said...

I loved the greeting again today. A good reminder to stop the mad rush and look around us. I can't identify the bird, but I love the pictures.

The Birdlady said...

Thanks everyone. The riddle is solved. The strange bird is indeed a RWBB - it came this morning with mama.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Helen: What a neat set of photos. You do a wonderful job with your camers.

Unknown said...

You never cease to amaze me with your pictures! They are also so beautiful, I can never pick a favorite! Thanks for your kind comments.

Julie Zickefoose said...

As you've discovered, you can often tell a bird by the company it keeps. It is an immature male red-winged blackbird with leucism. The one white central tail feather is a tip-off that it's leucism and not field marks we're seeing. What a cool-looking bird. It does not seem to be keeping a normal molt schedule--very odd--it seems to be retaining immature plumage well beyond when it should. But you can see the shiny black wing feathers coming in. It'll be a doubly cool bird when it is all black with red shoulders and a white collar!

brucesc said...

Thanks for the confirmation of the leucisism that Sandpiper and I felt was what was going on, Julie. Helen will have a quadri-colored blackbird!!

Anil P said...

Such lovely birds. I quite enjoy lookking at the pictures. I don't get to see most of these species in India.

jalynn01 said...

Your card for today is gorgeous! Love the 'I thought this was cute' photo. R they thrashers? They look like they could waddle away on short legs. I hope your RWBB sticks around until it gets it's black with red feathers. It will be stunning! Have a nice week end.

The Birdlady said...

Julie - Thank you so much - for the confirmation and for visiting my blog. The collar is perfectly symmetrical and full - he will be quite handsome, won't he - I'll try to get photos of him later - I think his family have adopted my backyard -(they haven't invited the entire extended family though, thank goodness - at least not yet.)

jayne - nature's mysteries make it even more thrilling, don't they?

Lin - how right you were!

Klaus - you too!

bruce - nice to hear from you again - I went to your blog, but didn't see comments -

stacey - thanks as always

mary - well, now we know.

carolyn - thanks!


fg - thank you for your visits and comments.

Michael - thank you so much -

anil - thank you for stopping by - my accountant is from India, and he says I should go there to see the birds that you have.

jalynn - as always, thank you!

Everyone have a wonderful week-end, and Happy Fathers Day to those of you who are dads. Thanks to all dads for what you do!