Identifying a Bird in Western Washington: Unusual Behavior.

[lisab]

We used to have a bird thread here a long time ago, but it went dormant - maybe it's time for a new one?

I need help identifying a bird. It's thrush-sized (~15 cm), nondescript brown-grey.

I noticed it had unusual behavior: It perches on a branch, then flies out about a meter, does a quick turn and goes back to where it was perched. It does this about once every 15 seconds, over and over. I'm pretty sure it's feeding. The behavior reminds my very much of a dragonfly!

I live in Western Washington State. Any ideas?

(Sorry, can't get a photo of it, it's through a screen window and all I have is my cell phone camera.)

 

[jedishrfu]

As an aside, have you seen The Big Year movie with Owen Wilson, Steve Martin and Jack Black? It follows three birders on a quest to see the most number of birds in a year. Maybe your mystery bird will be shown. :-)

Could it be a song sparrow?

http://nwbackyardbirder.blogspot.com/2009/03/backyard-birds-of-portland-oregon.html

 

[lisab]

Based on appearance, it could be a song sparrow. But that can be said of most little brown birds !

It's the behavior that doesn't fit, though. It really looked like it was feeding exactly as a dragonfly does.

 

[jedishrfu]

song sparrow habits and behavior are described here but no mention of the behavior you observed unless it was a male putting on a show for some female:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/song_sparrow/lifehistory

 

[dlgoff]

Wouldn't be a female Martin would it?

http://www.welcomewildlife.com/site/content/pages/IMAGES/Birds/Purple%20Martin.jpg

Image compliment of www.welcomewildlife.com

 

[AlephZero]

I've never seen martins hunt like that in the UK. They fly continuously, the same as swallows, then regurgitate the food at the nest if they are feeding their young.

I would guess https://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/spottedflycatcher/ or a similar US species.

 

[edward]

We used to have a bird thread here a long time ago, but it went dormant - maybe it's time for a new one?

I need help identifying a bird. It's thrush-sized (~15 cm), nondescript brown-grey.

I noticed it had unusual behavior: It perches on a branch, then flies out about a meter, does a quick turn and goes back to where it was perched. It does this about once every 15 seconds, over and over. I'm pretty sure it's feeding. The behavior reminds my very much of a dragonfly!

I live in Western Washington State. Any ideas?

(Sorry, can't get a photo of it, it's through a screen window and all I have is my cell phone camera.)

I always thought that when a bird made a repetitive sound or motion it was looking for a mate. In the human world that type of behavior is called OCD.

 

[edward]

I do have a bird mystery of my own. Last month I saw a little nest , about 10 cm wide , up in a mesquite tree so I got my camera and a step ladder (not a good combination for me). I got up to the next to the top step and still had to hold the camera up above my head and take a few wild shots.

I finally got the picture below which is fairly good considering that the wind was blowing. The bird/birds had actually woven a piece of string around the limb that the nest was on.

Not satisfied with this tip of the tail bit, I moved the ladder and climbed up to the top step. I still had to hold the camera above my head. The limb the nest was on hung out over the street so I was also standing on the top step of a ladder that was about three feet out into the street. There was great danger here, if my wife had seen me she would have killed me.

The bird was gone but I did get this shot.

To make a long story even longer, a few days ago I was kneeling down beside a patch of aloe vera and a bird landed very close to me. It was a little bird with that same pointed up tail. It kept pecking at something on the aloe. A minute later a second bird flew down. The birds were identical so I thought perhaps that it may be the mother and an offspring from the nest.

So far I haven't found any Arizona bird that looks like those birdies do? They are blue gray on top from head to tail with a lighter underbody and are about 10 to 11 cm long.

I am done now thanks for your time.

 

[jedishrfu]

Maybe the Blue-gray gnatcatcher:

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birding/blue-gray-gnatcatcher/

 

[jedishrfu]

or maybe this bird:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/gray_catbird/id

 

[edward]

Maybe the Blue-gray gnatcatcher:

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birding/blue-gray-gnatcatcher/

The birds were not that thick in the middle.

 

[jedishrfu]

The birds were not that thick in the middle.

Maybe they were dieting...

 

[edward]

or maybe this bird:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/gray_catbird/id

Not it again.

I used to do the annual bird count with Cornell Ornithology as a volunteer. Small world. They should have fired me.

 

[Evo]

To this day, the infamous NotAGoshawk has not been indentified.

 

[lisab]

To this day, the infamous NotAGoshawk has not been indentified.

I think PFers are especially good at figuring out what a bird isn't.

 

[wolram]

A bird is the one without the dick dick.

 

[lisab]

A bird is the one without the dick dick.

I'm sure you mean these?

 

[Astronuc]

Falcon

I took the attached image this morning.

I think it's a prairie falcon. This afternoon, I found a similar one (same species) feeding on some prey in a nearby tree. There are at least two in the area, because I found this one by following its call, but I could hear a second falcon nearby. The may be nesting in another tree near my office.

It looks similar to this falcon.
http://www.falconphotos.com/Birds-of-Prey/Falcons/Prairie-Falcons/i-cTFxmFv/A

 

[lisab]

Nice bird! Alternatively, it could be a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. If you see a marked decline in all other birds in your vicinity, it's even more likely it's a Sharpie!

 

[rcgldr]

The most interesting birds in my area are Kites, which despite being the size of a small hawk, can hover pretty much at a fixed position in the air, wind or no wind, since they focus on a spot on the ground. Link to video and youtube video:

http://ibc.lynxeds.com/video/white-tailed-kite-elanus-leucurus/adult-hovering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhsWRFTJDQI​