dimitrig Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 (edited) This afternoon here in Southern California I saw a small vireo- or kinglet- type bird picking through my roses eating aphids by clinging to the stems and working its way up and down each. It could be a flycatcher but the feeding style (gleaning) doesn't seem like flycatcher behavior. It was a dull gray with a white eye ring and a black bill and feet. Its underside was white or buff streaked with gray. No other (bright) colors were visible. What stood out for me what was it had two dark black marks or spots (though not perfectly round) on its breast: one of the right side and one on the left side. I have been looking at pictures of all the common local birds and I cannot find ANY that have two black spots on the chest. Any ideas? Edited March 1, 2020 by dimitrig typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefferson Shank Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 Song Sparrow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirVive Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 Sounds like a vireo/kinglet/gnatcatcher type of bird but none I know of have spots like that - any chance the spots were something other than normal plumage colors? Dirt, molting abnormalities, etc? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insanityslave Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 2 hours ago, Jefferson Shank said: Song Sparrow? i recently had a bird of like description i couldnt quite place... i knew i had seen it a lot in ohio, but not since ive moved to nc. after much discussion in the ebird discord channel. i decided it was probaly just a song sparrow... least until i can get a good pic. @dimitrig did it look something like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Leukering Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 Song Sparrow has pink legs! This reads something like Orange-crowned Warbler, though the plumage argues against such in SoCal. I'd bet that the black spots are a red herring, either a plumage anomaly or staining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefferson Shank Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 (edited) Song Sparrow has pink legs! This reads something like Orange-crowned Warbler, though the plumage argues against such in SoCal. I'd bet that the black spots are a red herring, either a plumage anomaly or staining. "Buff streaked underside" on an Orange-crowned Warbler? Some Song Sparrows have pretty dark legs. Edited March 2, 2020 by Jefferson Shank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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