jj123456789 Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Central Indiana Bird. Appeared to be all yellow (only saw the back) and was the size of an adults thumb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Welcome to Whatbird! Knowing the date, habitat, and behavior will help us narrow down the species. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexHenry Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Yellow Warbler? A bit bigger than a thumb I guess, but it’s the only small all-yellow option I can think of 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj123456789 Posted June 21, 2021 Author Share Posted June 21, 2021 Date - today 6/20 Habitat - Rural Residential, agricultural area. In a yard perched in a pine tree, outside branch, near the top around 30 feet. Had very quick flight pattern in bursts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj123456789 Posted June 21, 2021 Author Share Posted June 21, 2021 Was not a warbler, too large. Long time birder but this one has me stumped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Size is notoriously difficult to judge. There aren't any yellow birds that small in the U.S., and the only yellow birds that are small are warblers and goldfinches. Pine Warbler fits the habitat. I'm curious how you only saw the back when the bird was 30 feet up. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj123456789 Posted June 21, 2021 Author Share Posted June 21, 2021 Second story deck. Thanks for the help. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aveschapines Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Welcome to WhatBird @jj123456789! When you refer to the size are you talking about just the bird's body or the whole bird from tip of the beak to tip of the tail? It's a little confusing that you say it was too big to be a warbler because warblers are larger than an average adult's thumb. I do agree that size is very hard to judge in the field and even more so if the bird is far away or you only see part of it. If it was too large to be a warbler, could it have been a female tanager maybe? Did you see the general shape of the bird, including shape and length of the tail and bill? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jj123456789 Posted June 21, 2021 Author Share Posted June 21, 2021 I did not get a good look at the entire bird and would speculate that the tail was obscured by a branch. The body of the bird was the approx size of an adults thumb. I was struck by the color; which is what caught my attention. I agree on the comments re size being hard to judge - as I’ve gone back and looked I was able to generate an estimate based on the size of the branches and backdrop of where it was perched as best I could. Frankly it looked and moved like a large humming bird… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viurre Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 When you say "an adult's thumb," I am an adult female and my thumb is 2 inches long. I think you need to be more specific about the size. Men's thumbs can be much bigger. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 (edited) 15 minutes ago, jj123456789 said: The body of the bird was the approx size of an adults thumb Respectfully, only hummingbirds and maybe gnatcatchers are that small. None in North America have any yellow. Here are links to the birds others have suggested, in roughly increasing order of size. I've included only those birds that would be expected in central IN in the summer. ("Back home again ...") Would you see if any of them are close? Thanks! https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Goldfinch https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow_Warbler https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hooded_Warbler/overview https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Summer_Tanager (female, not the red male) https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Scarlet_Tanager (again, the female) Edited June 21, 2021 by Charlie Spencer 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aveschapines Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 7 minutes ago, Viurre said: When you say "an adult's thumb," I am an adult female and my thumb is 2 inches long. I think you need to be more specific about the size. Men's thumbs can be much bigger. Now we're all pulling out our tape measures - another adult female here (although I'm very tall and have big hands) and my thumb is 3" long. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peromyscus Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 I'm a slightly shorter than average-height male and my thumb is also 3 inches long. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerri Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 I had two thoughts - 1- Hummingbird Moths are yellow and black and mimic hummingbirds. They can be found in Indiana. https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/hummingbird_moth.shtml#:~:text=Hummingbird moths are rather plump,are called clearwing hummingbird moths. 2 - An escaped domestic pet bird like a Lady Gouldian finch https://thefinchfarm.com/lady-gouldian-finch-yellow-back/ or even a small canary? 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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