Tue
Dec 2 2008
10:44 am
Identify this bird?
By: Sibyl

I found this image on another website with a request for help in identification. I usually am pretty good at identifying birds but am stuck somewhere with no field guides. Helpful info: this bird flocks with house sparrows and acts like a house sparrow. Not-so-helpful lack of info: this bird was sighted somewhere in the lower 48 or Canada but I have no further knowledge of where.
Dark sparrow-ish bird perched on feeder.
My personal guess is that this is some sort of dark-phase or mutant house sparrow, but don't have a lot of confidence in my guess.

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Tess's picture

Junco?

Submitted by Tess on Tue, 2008/12/02 - 11:59am.

Possibly a dark-eyed junco. (Scroll down the page at link.)

(link...)

M. Silence's picture

The bird.

Submitted by M. Silence (not verified) on Tue, 2008/12/02 - 12:27pm.

Colleague Morgan Simmons says it looks like "a house finch to me, although its pretty dark."

WhitesCreek's picture

tough to be more certain

Submitted by WhitesCreek on Tue, 2008/12/02 - 4:55pm.

tough to be more certain without knowing where it was taken, when it was taken, and frankly, a better shot would help, but...I would go with a female house or purple finch.

ma am's picture

house sparrow

Submitted by ma am on Wed, 2008/12/03 - 10:29am.

I agree it is a mutant house sparrow, check the beak. Looks like a female. This past weekend I noticed a very light tan female house sparrow with the regular flock at my place. She was very different looking but definitely a house sparrow.

Dark-eyed juncos have a prominent white breast, so I think not.

Also the native birds tend not to hang with house sparrows.

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