millipede Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 I THINK this is in Massachusetts... Not a great photo and, I can't tell what is the head and what isn't. I started looking at quail in the field guide trying to figure out what I'm seeing... I see spots... Part of me wanted to see a red-shouldered hawk at first but the pattern is NOT right and, that head... which part is the head??? Reminds me of a bobwhite quail head... but I really can't make out the details I need to. I feel as if I saw a better photo I'd be able to get it no problem but, I'm not sure... I know people more familiar with different species can ID a bird with less in the picture than this sometimes so I'm asking you guys... I'm sure someone will know it and then it will make sense to me. Got my daughter double-checking where this was taken. My mom sent the photo to her and said a friend took the picture for her... let's see what she says. If this was in her yard I'd be pretty interested because she doesn't get a ton of birds there... Seems it was in a neighboring town... possibly Chelmsford or Lowell, MA but either way, middlesex county massachusetts... I tried using merlin(never did that before) to take a pic of the pic and the results it gave were not even close. Pileated woodpecker, wild turkey, roughed grouse, virginia rail? ha. I hope you guys can do better than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 2 hours ago, millipede said: Pileated woodpecker, wild turkey, roughed grouse, virginia rail? Sandhill Crane! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 I think it's a Northern Bobwhite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefferson Shank Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Yes, it's a Northern Bobwhite! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexHenry Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Northern Bobwhite quite uncommon in MA nowadays but that head pattern looks about right. Just hard to tell what’s going on, I won’t even guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiley Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Why not Ring-necked Pheasant with that long tail? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bird Brain Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 My first thought was the Great Speckled Bird!! The tail looks too long for a Bobwhite to me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefferson Shank Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 I saw a Northern Bobwhite caged up outside, in PA. It was making its 'bob-white' calls too. Too bad I can't count it on my life-list! LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefferson Shank Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 Why not Ring-necked Pheasant with that long tail? There's too much white on the head for Ring-necked Pheasant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birding Boy Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 Definitely a Pheasant, probably Ring-Necked but not sure what's going on with the head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melierax Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 I agree with Northern Bobwhite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bird Brain Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 Bobwhites have a short stubby tail. I don't know what it is, but I've never seen a Bobwhite with a long tail like this bird has and I've seen thousands of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birding Boy Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 (edited) I don't think Norther Bobwhites don't have that dark belly, and they have a different speckle pattern on their sides. I'm not sure if its ring necked pheasant or not, perhaps it's an aberrant or domestic individual? but that tail seems a bit long for bob white I think. Edit: Agreed with birdbrain Edited March 24, 2020 by Birding Boy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melierax Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 Aren't those leaves? I agree with @Jefferson Shank there's too much white on the head for Ring-necked Pheasant. Maybe it's an escaped bird? The facial pattern looks spot on for NOBO though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bird Brain Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 (edited) 30 minutes ago, Melierax said: Aren't those leaves? I agree with @Jefferson Shank there's too much white on the head for Ring-necked Pheasant. Maybe it's an escaped bird? The facial pattern looks spot on for NOBO though. Don't think those are leaves, there's no leaves anywhere else showing on the tree. It appears to be a well formed tail. I agree, the facial pattern, as best as we can see it, looks good for Bobwhite, but I'm not sure just how we are seeing its head. If it's looking straight at us, what is the dark spot on its throat? And, as @Birding Boy pointed out, the speckled pattern on its body doesn't look right for a Bobwhite to me, either. Edited March 24, 2020 by Bird Brain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 An escaped exotic, maybe? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerri Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 Really long shots but the best matches I could come up with were Ornate Hawk Eagle (head and tail similar) and Spotted Harrier (chest and tail similar). Both are no where near Massachusetts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefferson Shank Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 If it's looking straight at us, what is the dark spot on its throat? The black spot "on" its throat is part of the tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akandula Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 I know plenty of out-of-North-America species and my first impression of this bird was an escaped male Reeve’s Pheasant with its tail cut off a little. Problem solved. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefferson Shank Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 A Ring-necked Pheasant would have a much longer tail... and the head would be mostly black with red patches on either side. The bird here has a black and white striped head like the Northern Bobwhites do. I don't think Norther Bobwhites don't have that dark belly, and they have a different speckle pattern on their sides. The belly color and pattern fits with Northern Bobwhite too. The color and pattern can vary majorly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 25 minutes ago, akandula said: I know plenty of out-of-North-America species and my first impression of this bird was an escaped male Reeve’s Pheasant with its tail cut off a little. Problem solved. Remind me again why I wasted those 'Likes' on you? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millipede Posted March 24, 2020 Author Share Posted March 24, 2020 2 hours ago, akandula said: I know plenty of out-of-North-America species and my first impression of this bird was an escaped male Reeve’s Pheasant with its tail cut off a little. hmmm... I just looked at some pictures and, sure looks pretty good to me. And there are at least a few pictures in the results that have shorter tails... https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=reeves+pheasant&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fc1.staticflickr.com%2F4%2F3062%2F3595103626_69fd5af86c.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 2 hours ago, akandula said: I know plenty of out-of-North-America species and my first impression of this bird was an escaped male Reeve’s Pheasant with its tail cut off a little. Problem solved. I think that is reasonable. People keep those like they do Golden Pheasants, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akandula Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 1 hour ago, The Bird Nuts said: I think that is reasonable. People keep those like they do Golden Pheasants, right? Yup, especially in Europe. I actually spelled it wrong, its the Reeves's Pheasant. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bird Brain Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 5 hours ago, Charlie Spencer said: An escaped exotic, maybe? That's what I'm thinking too................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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