ChristmasBird

Thank you! The other juvenile starlings that are in the area do not have that yellow-ish breast, so I was thrown off. And the others are all hewing pretty close to parents, but both of these were out alone. In fact, one pair is following around a mourning dove, so I am wondering if their eggs were popped into her nest.

Here are photos from a backyard feeder in IL, two different birds, two different times of day. The bib/chest coloring is different, but they are still kind of similar. Both were between the size of a cowbird and a robin. The red-bellied woodpecker in the second set of photos looks as surprised as I was to see this odd bird. Your help will be much appreciated. Many of my favorite birds are gray --tufted titmouse, catbird, dark-eyed junco-- and yet gray birds are the hardest for me to identify.

Really? I didn't see any rufous coloring as it flew from one branch to another, and I saw a Great Created FC the same day, in a different location a few miles away, and it was noticeably larger than this fellow.

Seen in IL, in a forest where I have heard Eastern Wood Pewees. I haven't seen a pewee with a belly this yellow. It was a very bright yellow.

Yes, looks like a Great Crested FC. And what nice pictures! Incidentally, I just saw a Great Crested FC, but my photo isn't as nice as yours.

Thank you for the information!

Thank you for the heads-up, and let me try that again:

Two different birds, seen in two different central, IL locations. No orange visible on the mandibles, so I'm guessing they are Eastern Phoebes, not Eastern Wood-pewees, but I would like to more expert opinions. Neither bird wagged its tail while perched.