I haven't seen much of the male Rose-breasted Grosbeak yet and the one that I have seen is a juvenile. From the front he has the typical rose patch and dark head, but if you look at his back feathers, he is not the nice glossy black of the one in my side bar from last year. Instead he is a mixture of browns and black and spots and whatever!
I believe that this is the female Indigo Bunting, which is a nice plain brown color. I've mainly only seen the males so far this year.
Male Indigo Bunting .....quite a difference!
And to confuse things further today, I had this one that seems to be molting according to my Peterson bird guide! It is mostly brown looking but has faint blue showing in various places! I guess this is a juvenile.
I rather like it's faint tinges of blue after the bright blue of the adult males!
This is the female Red-Wing Blackbird. She looks nothing like her handsome black mate with his bright wing patches and I kept mistaking her for either a female Rose-Breasted Grosbeak or some sort of sparrow to begin with!
She is rather attractive with all her stripes and her eye streaks.The handsome bright males are certainly more easy to identify in the bird world!
Show offs!
%2B(2).jpg)
12 comments:
I am learning new things today from you. I'm only familiar with the male Indigo Bunting, which shows up only rarely at my feeders; maybe about twice. But if I see another some day I will also check for the little warm, brown female that you have posted today, now that I know what to look for. A very sweet bird and a very helpful post. I'm still waiting for the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks to arrive.
What a great post! You get the best bird visitors, Mary!!
Really nice pictures - the little brown indigo bunting with a little blue is a first year male.
Thank you all! I had not seen the young male Indigo before, so it was rather intriguing with its faint color. I'm glad you confirmed what it is Birdlady!
LOL!! Males are ALWAYS show offs when there are ladies around. A lovely comparison Mary.
SAphotographs: Yep! Guess that's why they get to be the "pretty" ones :-)
Great photos and I love those buntings. Never seen one in person though.
Nice shots Mary. Lovely colours on you garden visitors, great post.
You just have the most beautiful birds where you live. We are getting a few different kinds at our feeder but not many yet.
My mom says she did not go into that church on her blog, but went into some other beautiful ones. All the architecture in Europe is amazing.
--JB
Thanks!
Sandy: Last year was the first time I ever had an Indigo Bunting, so don't give up! This year I have seen at least 3-4, so once they find you they come back with friends!
Mike:Thanks! Color is big right now....red, yellow, blue.....sure a change from winter!
JB: Glad to know about the church. It looked really grand! Hope your birds pick up. I'm still missing a few summer favorites....hummingbirds, thrashers....but I hope it is just the lousey, cool, rainy weather. I've seen both in a brief flash, but neither has come to the feeders.
Great photos, I like how you got photos of both the male and female of the Indigo Bunting, I've never seen one before, I don't think we get them around here.
John: Thanks! I've been searching for the female for weeks. I have at least 3-4 males, but this was the first female to come when I was looking. I was hoping that meant they are sitting on nests somewhere :-) I would think that you have Indigos in Maine....maybe they will find you someday. I didn't have any until last year....yet knew that a friend had them about a mile away!
Post a Comment