Prettiest bird I've ever seen, no idea

[ducktapesunroof]

Saw in Greensboro North Carolina, 3.9.20.

Small, wren or swallow sized, sitting in a bush.

SOLID white body, except for distinct alternating HORIZONTAL (across wings at 90 degrees to the wing length) black and white barring on the wings, and a small brilliant red patch on back/top of head.

No clue what this bird is, never seen one before.

[gstacks]

Downy woodpecker?

[ducktapesunroof]

Possibly related but the bird was SOLID WHITE, with no trace of black ANYWHERE except the bars on the wings, and a small patch of red on head. I had an excellent look... was sitting just 20 feet away for 10 minutes or more. No black anywhere except bars on wings.

[Skull Guy]

Not brilliant white but the rest fits - ruby crowned kinglet?

 

[Melierax]

Does this look similar, minus the red on the head? It's possible you saw a leucistic bird. (I took the photo from google)

Edited March 11, 2020 by Melierax

[ducktapesunroof]

No, definitely not. Body color is white as snow, and the multiple black bars on the wings run *across* each wing (alternating evenly with the white background), they do not run the length of the wing.

[Melierax]

Did you happen to note the size, shape and color of the beak?

[ducktapesunroof]

Not too much... the black bars need to be SMALL (width of a pencil or less) and EVENLY alternating with solid white background color. (Think of the classic 'cartoon prisoner's uniform....) And, of course, a brilliant, but small, red cap that is only on the back side of the skull.

[ducktapesunroof]

I'm certainly no expert... but the beak to me seemed "unremarkable"... not thick and strong like a seed-cracker, but not very long either like woodpeckers I've seen.

[Melierax]

Red-bellied Woodpecker? I know it's not completely white, but does everything else fit?

[ducktapesunroof]

Red bellied woodpecker: Red on head is far too extensive (extends down to the beak and neck... what I saw was more like a 'skull cap' of red, only on the BACK of skull). Also the alternating black and white on the red bellied is too wavy... needs to be STRAIGHT lines right across the wings and nowhere else... and of course, no black anywhere on body at all, just straight black bars alternating with white on the wings only.

[Melierax]

Not to be rude, but those kinds of details like perfectly straight bars is very subject to feather placement which can vary widely from bird to bird.

I was particularly referencing the female RBWO:

 

I can't think of anything else that fits that description. I'm pretty sure woodpeckers are the only genus in the US that has horizontal barring on the back, besides maybe American Kestrel and a few others that don't fit your description. Have you looked through the list of woodpeckers on the Whatbird identification website?

Edited March 11, 2020 by Melierax

[ducktapesunroof]

Close though.... (perhaps a seasonal variant or subspecies of the red bellied woodpecker?) That's the closest match I seen suggested yet.

[Melierax]

Just now, ducktapesunroof said:

Close though.... (perhaps a seasonal variant or subspecies of the red bellied woodpecker?) That's the closest match I seen suggested yet.

Is it the black on the tail that's not similar to what you saw? I'm just wondering because I might be missing something.

[ducktapesunroof]

I had a good look at sides and back. Definitely was NO barring on the back, black alternated with white only on the wings. The rest of it's body (other then red cap) was all white.

[ducktapesunroof]

Tail was white.

[ducktapesunroof]

Everything matches your posted pic (even cap of red on back of head) except that back and tail had no black at all.

[ducktapesunroof]

Alternating black and white on wings was extremely regular though... like someone inked straight black lines across the outside of each snow-white wing....

[Charlie Spencer]

How's this?

This is another Red-Bellied, but this one has a pigmentation variation called 'leucism'.  Leucistic birds are missing pigment in some of their feathers.  It's not albino, and it usually doesn't indicate there's anything else unusual or abnormal about the bird.  Leucistic birds aren't uncommon, although some species are more prone to it than others.

In this case, the bird is male, which is why the red goes all the way over the head.  The one Melierax posted earlier is female, with the red on the back of the head only.

Edited March 11, 2020 by Charlie Spencer

[ducktapesunroof]

Interesting... I'd say (from the small red cap) that it must have been a female. But the black bars on the wings were *extremely* prominent and regularly spaced, while the rest of the bird was snow white... without even a spot of black anywhere other then the wings.

[Charlie Spencer]

11 minutes ago, ducktapesunroof said:

Interesting... I'd say (from the small red cap) that it must have been a female. But the black bars on the wings were *extremely* prominent and regularly spaced, while the rest of the bird was snow white... without even a spot of black anywhere other then the wings.

Leucism is highly variable.  Some birds may have color missing from only a few feathers, others show white all over but have normal colored eyes, legs, feet, and bills.  It's almost always identical on both sides, left and right.

If the overall shape looks good, I suspect we have the right bird and pigment variation.  It's a question of exactly how the genes expressed themselves,

[ducktapesunroof]

Thanks Charlie, I think you've pegged it. (An interesting variation... never heard of leucism before.) Such a pretty bird! Snow white all over, except for evenly black-banded wings and small, bright, red cap. Not a trace of 'salt and pepper' or 'dirty white' anywhere on it.

[AlexHenry]

Red-bellied Woodpecker is definitely larger than wren or swallow sized, also your description of the beak does not fit with Red-bellied Woodpecker. But if you are satisfied with that answer I'll shut up, because based on your description no one will be able to give you a definitive answer.

[ducktapesunroof]

Perhaps a small female?

[AlexHenry]

Well size can be tough to judge objectively especially if the bird is "out of context" - if there is something nearby to compare it to, it is easier. I don't think there's that much sexual dimorphism between Red-bellied Woodpeckers, more likely there was just nothing nearby to give an accurate sense of scale. Judging size can be notoriously difficult and inaccurate without something for direct comparison, but I'd argue that it is still one of the most important things to pay attention to when identifying a bird.