ccb Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 I live in Raleigh, NC. This morning I saw a new bird on my balcony. He was about the size of a finch, chubby, all black or dark grey including beak but with a white belly. Sorry no photo. I googled and found 2 that looked like him but neither lives in this area of the East Coast - a junco and a phoebe. Does anyone have any thoughts? On an unrelated note, I have had a hawk twice attack birds on my balcony (which has an overhang) and a third time saw him perched on a branch nearby. I don't think I can do much about it but I feel sorry for the birds - hawk on one side and lurking cats on other other side of the sliding glass door! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonestranger Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 27 minutes ago, ccb said: I live in Raleigh, NC. This morning I saw a new bird on my balcony. He was about the size of a finch, chubby, all black or dark grey including beak but with a white belly. Sorry no photo. I googled and found 2 that looked like him but neither lives in this area of the East Coast - a junco and a phoebe. Does anyone have any thoughts? On an unrelated note, I have had a hawk twice attack birds on my balcony (which has an overhang) and a third time saw him perched on a branch nearby. I don't think I can do much about it but I feel sorry for the birds - hawk on one side and lurking cats on other other side of the sliding glass door! Both Dark-eyed Juncos and Eastern Phoebe should be in your area, @ccb. Dark-eyed Juncos have a lighter coloured bill than the Eastern Phoebes though so you can probably rule out Juncos because of the bill colour. There may be other options based on your description, but I can't come up with any but someone else might have another suggestion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 I am not sure what maps you have been looking at but you have both Phoebes and Juncos. Eastern Phoebe seems like a good guess. https://ebird.org/species/easpho/US-NC-183 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccb Posted January 22, 2022 Author Share Posted January 22, 2022 I think the phoebe that looked similar was the Black Phoebe which is on the west coast. The Eastern Phoebe had more white than this bird. It was like a two-toned car - all dark above with just a smaller horizontal white beneath. It was distinctive looking which is why it stood out among all my other usual smaller birds. It didn't stay long enough for me to get a photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccb Posted January 22, 2022 Author Share Posted January 22, 2022 I was using the Cornell Lab map for the Black Phoebe. The Eastern Phoebe has that white that partly circles the neck. The bird I saw had a definite line between the dark above and the white below which made me think of a two-toned car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 9 minutes ago, ccb said: I think the phoebe that looked similar was the Black Phoebe which is on the west coast. The Eastern Phoebe had more white than this bird. It was like a two-toned car - all dark above with just a smaller horizontal white beneath. It was distinctive looking which is why it stood out among all my other usual smaller birds. It didn't stay long enough for me to get a photo. Ah! You are right Black Phoebes are well out of range. Are you sure the bill was black? Maybe the lighting made it look darker than it really was? https://ebird.org/species/daejun/US-NC-183 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccb Posted January 22, 2022 Author Share Posted January 22, 2022 Yes, it wasn't yellow as so many other birds' are. I was studying it because I knew I was going to try to identify it - it's a mystery bird! I know my other birds and this one was very pretty against the new snow on my balcony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 4 minutes ago, ccb said: Yes, it wasn't yellow as so many other birds' are. I was studying it because I knew I was going to try to identify it - it's a mystery bird! I know my other birds and this one was very pretty against the new snow on my balcony. What is different about your bird, than the junco? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 Just now, Kevin said: What is different about your bird, than the junco? Is the bill longer or thinner? Or maybe a big finch-like bill? Feet color? leg Color? Things like that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccb Posted January 22, 2022 Author Share Posted January 22, 2022 I know it didn't have a finch-like bill. I'll have to watch for him to come back today for food to get more details. Thanks for trying to place him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meghann Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 And remember, even a bad picture can be better than no picture, so try to get one if he comes back! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, ccb said: I'll have to watch for him to come back today for food What kind of food is it coming to? If it's seeds, you have a junco; phoebes eat insects. Everyone else, do phoebes come to suet, or do they not come to feeders at all? Edited January 22, 2022 by Charlie Spencer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccb Posted January 22, 2022 Author Share Posted January 22, 2022 28 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said: What kind of food is it coming to? If it's seeds, you have a junco; phoebes eat insects. Everyone else, do phoebes come to suet, or do they not come to feeders at all? 28 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said: What kind of food is it coming to? If it's seeds, you have a junco; phoebes eat insects. Everyone else, do phoebes come to suet, or do they not come to feeders at all? Seeds, nuts, fruit, suet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 38 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said: phoebes eat insects. Everyone else, do phoebes come to suet, or do they not come to feeders at all? They come to my BOSS feeders.... Seriously though, they only use them as a perch, not eat the seed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meghann Posted January 22, 2022 Share Posted January 22, 2022 Yeah, in my experience, the phoebes hang around the feeders, but don't actually eat from them. It's like they want to just hang out with the other birds or something, lol. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insanityslave Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 8 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said: Everyone else, do phoebes come to suet, or do they not come to feeders at all? i have phoebes here every at the house every day/year round and they never touch the feeders. theyll use the shepards hooks as perches, but thats it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanbirds Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 19 hours ago, meghann said: Yeah, in my experience, the phoebes hang around the feeders, but don't actually eat from them. It's like they want to just hang out with the other birds or something, lol. I had a bluebird hang around the feeder one time just to see what all the other birds were making such a fuss about! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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