Hi all,

I saw this bird at the beginning of September in Central Utah. It was alone, and my first thought was a Black-chinned Sparrow, however I have never seen them this far North. The beak is wrong, and so is the yellowish coloring over the ears. The belly is a buffy color with no streaking, and the black face extends a little further down the neck.

Instead of going to the seed feeders, it stayed on the Canna flowers. It was a little bigger than a House Finch, but not by much.

Sorry for the horrible picture, but it flew in and out so fast, I was lucky to get this shot.



Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks. Candy

Candy in Utah
Panasonic FZ30
The Early Bird gets the worm, but the 2nd mouse gets the Cheese...

Hello Candy,

This is my guess...an Abert's Tohee
At this link, scroll down to the bird on this Utah's list and you will see several really good pics of one that match your pic. Unfortunately it won't let me post the specific link here...just the main link to their photo gallery.
http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/PhotoIndex.html
and here's more info about it...
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Aberts_Towhee/id

Very cool bird! thanks for sharing!

Susan Louise
from Branford CT/ live in Lincoln NE
Zone 5

Wow, Thanks Susan. That matches exactly. I wasn't evening thinking Towhee's. And from what I read, it appears to be a lucky find this far North.

Thanks for your help and fast response.

Candy in Utah
Panasonic FZ30
The Early Bird gets the worm, but the 2nd mouse gets the Cheese...

Hello Candy,

Glad to help! I'm a relative newbie compared to many others on this forum. I'm still on the huge learning curve myself.
I was wondering if you might contact them at "All About Birds" (the 2nd link I gave you). At the top of the link there is a button for "Contact us".
Rather than telling me where you are in Utah, I know they would be very appreciative by you letting them know where you saw the Abert's Tohee. Many times they rely on what sources they have to update range maps of birds over the years that either expand their range, or their range gets smaller, etc.
I have sent many FYI's since I've been birding. I'm trying to send them a list on a daily basis on what passes through our yard during the migration period. Hopefully I'll be able to find a way to send them a list on a daily basis all year long. I've already registered with them.

I do the same with butterflies too, by sending the list of the 1st sighting of each that visited our gardens to the "Butterflies and Moths of North America" site. This year there have been a new sighting update for 2 butterflies in this county in NE because I sent them pics to prove my sighting.

I only mention that to show you that by passing on the info, along with others that also might have see your bird out of it's range, might spur them to update the range map at some near future time...

It's up to you

Susan Louise
from Branford CT/ live in Lincoln NE
Zone 5

It does resemble an Abert's Towhee, but not by behavior and subtle appearances of plumage in the photo. Given the fact that this bird was seen foraging in canna flowers, probably obtaining nectar, and I think I see two faint wing bars on this bird, and a distinct bluish cast to the beak that appears to be longer and pointed, I am going to say this is a first year male Bullock's Oriole. Also, the bird in the photo appears to have a yellowish cast to the head. Overall, it doesn't have the uniform warm brown plumage of an Abert's Towhee...which are at the very northern limit of their range in extreme southern Utah. Thus, it seems more likely this is an oriole, especially given the two faint wing bars, which an Abert's would never have in any plumage. Just my two cents.

Jeff

Well, here are several images of juvie Bullock's 1st year male images along a time span. Forgive me Jeff, but I can't see the similarities between Candy's pic and any of these images...
http://tinyurl.com/y8gyqcx
I also just went through my Stoke's Oriole reference guide to Orioles and although there is one image of a juvie Orchard Oriole (not a Bullock's) that has the black feathers just around the beak area, all of it's other feathers has a pale orange tint to them too.
There does seem to be a slight orangy yellow areas near the ear area and slight areas in it's tail too. I didn't think to take into consideration of the bird prefering the Cannas either...
I'll just sit back and let experts decide what they think



Susan Louise
from Branford CT/ live in Lincoln NE
Zone 5

Thanks for the suggestion of an Oriole. I do have many Bullock's Oriole's in the Spring/Summer and I am very familiar with their plumage during all stages.

This bird was way too uniformly brown and did not look like an Oriole to me. It was pretty windy out, so I believe the perceived wingbars are a trick of light as the wind is lifting its feathers slightly.

I got a good visual look at it, and I'm still leaning towards Towhee, even tho it's very North of its usual range. There were bugs all over the Canna flowers, so I think that's what it was after - not the nectar. Just my opinion...

I sure hope it comes back for a good Photo-op. This time I'll have the good camera sitting by the window.

Thanks for your help/comments.

Candy, maybe it's just the angle but that tail sure seems short for a towhee?? ...I hope it comes back and you get another shot at it.

Ruth
Everett, WA
Zone 8

I'm moderately stumped on this one myself - but, I did "copy" the picture to Photoshop and enlarged the head. From what I can tell, the bill on the bird is definitely much longer than should be on any towhee (it's a lot more blackbird/oriole like than sparrow/finch like). The bill also appears to be black, not pale (which it should be on an Abert's Towhee), and even on an adult bird, the black shouldn't extend very far below the bill. In addition, you said it was slightly larger than a House Finch, but not by much, and an Abert's Towhee should be about half again as big as a House Finch. (Then again, so should a Bullock's Oriole.)

I agree that it doesn't really look like a Bullock's Oriole; I know that the yellow could be an artifact of lighting; and yet.... the only birds I can think of with a black face/throat like that are:

Lawrence's Goldfinch (this bird is much too large for that)
Black-chinned Sparrow (same)
Abert's Towhee
immature orioles of various species (only two of which are regularly found in Utah)

One other possibility: a first-year male Scott's Oriole. It would be somewhat drabber than a Bullock's, and is also found in a good part of Utah.

Either way, because of the bill as seen when I magnified it, I'm thinking it's an oriole of some sort.

Kevin Morgan
Baton Rouge, LA

Thanks. I sure hope others chime in with their ideas. This one is a head-scratcher for sure.

Thanks for taking the time to analyze the photo and present your thoughts. In the mean time, I'm glued to the window for it to reappear.

Candy in Utah
Panasonic FZ30
The Early Bird gets the worm, but the 2nd mouse gets the Cheese...

That beak says Oriole to me, I will have to scour my books :D

OK, I am going with juvenile Orchard Oriole