Watch the Birdie!

This bird is thwarting my attempts to identify it:


It turned up on a telephone pole at the very edge of the St Michael's parking lot. This was as close as I could get without standing directly underneath, which wouldn't have helped.



I think it has to be a hawk or falcon, rather than the unholy combination of American Robin / Ruddy Duck / American Coot / Evening Grosbeak it kind of looks like. It's on the smallish side for a hawk, but it could be a Cooper's Hawk, or possibly a Peregrine Falcon. Nothing other than raptors has that beak. If it is a hawk, though, the wings are all wrong. In fact, the whole bird is oddly shaped. I'm wondering whether it's immature, or injured (missing wingtips and leg feathers), or both. Also, the coloring is way too even for the species I mentioned.

Maybe it's a mutant robin?

'Tis a puzzlement. Can anyone help me out on this?





I photographed this bird in my neighborhood on the way home from work. There is no question what this one is. It's a Curve-billed Thrasher, relative to the Mockingbird. And yes, it sings about as well as its cousin.



This last shot is the Harris' Hawk from last week.

I have a lot of old bird photos from 1986, but I've posted most of the good ones already.

Karen


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