lonestranger

Forgive my confusion, but what does the bird have that is large (relative to body size)?

BRDL 164 ???? ???? ????

birdie ? #47: ??⬛⬛⬛⬛ https://birdiegame.net/ I actually had the right famly with my first guess, they just used a different name.

I'm never going to be able to explain that the kids have to go hungry because I was fooled by a bird bath without looking like a total idiot. Nope, nope, nope, not going to even mention it.

Young Red-bellied Woodpecker getting fed by Dad. Waiting impatiently for Dad to go get more.

Welcome to Whatbird, @Jeff Conn. Just so you know, the North American ID forum gets a lot more traffic than the iBird Only ID forum. Same group of people frequent both forums, but you'll likely get quicker responses and more feedback in the North American ID forum. What I'm trying to say is, don't feel restricted to the iBird Only forum just because you're an iBird user. ?

BRDL 163 ???? ???? ???? ???? ????

birdie ? #46: ?????⬛ https://birdiegame.net/

I thought just the opposite, I thought it was too orange for an Orchard Oriole. I have to admit to having less exposure with Orchard Orioles, but I see nothing wrong with this coloring for Baltimore Oriole, which I see quite regularly. To be taken with a few grains of salt because we're talking interpretation of colors which I, or my device, could be seeing differently. Or, to be taken with a ton of salt because I don't really know what I am talking about when it comes to IDing the two of them. ?

I was fortunate enough to see an Osprey right above the house yesterday before it climbed up into the stratosphere. While it was gaining altitude it would hover in place flapping its wings as if it was getting ready to dive into the corn field below it, then it would drift lazily along circling and climbing and then do it again. I convinced myself, right or wrong, that the bird wasn't hunting, but more likely trying different vantage points to see where it's mate and/or offspring were (I heard it calling a few times and that's where my mind went). If I had of watched things in reverse order and saw a far off bird circling and occasionally kiting over the corn fields, I would not have thought of Osprey as a possibility just because of behavior, or more accurately, because of the location of the behavior. What the bird was doing wasn't really unusual, if it had been flying over, or near the river and not over the corn fields running parallel to the river. So yeah, I've seen Osprey circling lazily on the thermals and ride the currents without much flapping at all. Yesterday's sighting involved some flapping but there was just as much flapless gliding and circling going on too. While none of them compare to Turkey Vultures, I suspect that most raptors take advantage of floating/circling on the currents, both to gain altitude on the thermals and to slowly scout out a large area for prey, predators, and especially at this time of year, maybe even checking up on their mates and offspring.

BRDL 162 ???? ???? ???? ???? ????

birdie ? #45: ??⬛⬛⬛⬛ https://birdiegame.net/

Pileated Woodpecker

birdie ? #44: ??⬛⬛⬛⬛ https://birdiegame.net/

BRDL 161 ???? ???? ???? ???? ????

Can you flag it a second time and point out your error?

Ring-necked Pheasant

Welcome to Whatbird, @ornitomania. You've got some very nice video there. ?

BRDL 160 ???? ???? ???? ???? I had opened my bird index but didn't use it. I tried to use it, but once I considered the possibilities for a last letter, I didn't need the list.

birdie ? #43: ????⬛⬛ https://birdiegame.net/

BRDL 159 ???? ???? ????

birdie ? #42: ????⬛⬛ https://birdiegame.net/

Welcome to Whatbird, @Molgula. You have photos of one of the most commonly confused birds on the forums, the Female Red-winged Blackbird. While the males are usually easy to ID, their Female counterparts are often confused for Sparrows because they look so different than the males.

birdie ? #41: ?????? https://birdiegame.net/