AES Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 The birds are small - comparable to sparrows - and are dark gray with a black cap/crown. No white at all on the body. The description matches a catbird, but these birds are quite small - around 4". Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed hogg Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 Welcome to Whatbird @AES what was the habitat that the bird was in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AES Posted June 27 Author Share Posted June 27 Hi Ed - It lives in suburban northern NJ. I see them in my yard, along with sparrows, robins, blue jays, house wrens, crows, various finches, and the occasional red tail hawk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peromyscus Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 Welcome, AES. How sure are you of the length of these birds? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKLland Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 Tufted Titmouse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 21 minutes ago, Peromyscus said: Welcome, AES. How sure are you of the length of these birds? @AES, welcome to Whatbird! Respectfully, size is very difficult to estimate accurately. If everything else seems to indicate Gray Catbird except the estimated size, it may indeed be a catbird. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gray_Catbird 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKLland Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 4 minutes ago, IKLland said: Tufted Titmouse? https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonestranger Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 3 minutes ago, IKLland said: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse 2 hours ago, AES said: No white at all on the body. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKLland Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 1 minute ago, lonestranger said: Didn’t see that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpoole Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 Maybe juvenile Dark-eyed Junco? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 3 hours ago, gpoole said: Maybe juvenile Dark-eyed Junco? Habitat and location isn't right for a juvenile junco. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AES Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 I'll try to get a photo. Thanks for all your suggestions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AES Posted June 28 Author Share Posted June 28 Okay, I finally found some online photos that match my little birds. The birds in my yard are a little darker all around than this picture, but they're definitely catbirds (although smaller than it says in the Falcon Guide for the Eastern Region). I'd like to hear their cat-like call. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexHenry Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 (edited) 4 hours ago, AES said: (although smaller than it says in the Falcon Guide for the Eastern Region) Did you capture these birds and measure them with a ruler? All due respect, but it’s far more likely you are misjudging the size rather than the field guide being wrong or the specific individual Catbirds you’ve seen being smaller than average . Edited June 28 by AlexHenry 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 @AES seems to be confident that he/she is seeing Gray Catbirds, so unless the op has more questions regarding these birds, lets let this thread go. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonestranger Posted June 28 Share Posted June 28 (edited) 1 hour ago, Kevin said: @AES seems to be confident that he/she is seeing Gray Catbirds, so unless the op has more questions regarding these birds, lets let this thread go. Respectfully, I'd like to point out to @AESthat size is one of the hardest things to judge in the field, and sometimes hard to judge in photos too. Don't get discouraged if you're repeatedly reminded of that fact on the forums. Size is easy to misjudge and it happens to ALL of us, and I suspect that it's because it has happened to ALL of us, that many of us will repeatedly emphasize the difficulty of estimating a bird's size. Don't take it personally or get discouraged if people point out that, contrary to popular belief, size DOES matter, but it's hard to judge. 😉 Welcome to the forums AES. 🙂 Edited June 28 by lonestranger 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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