Hannah,
One other mostly plain bird I didn't think of last night was Gray Catbird.
However, Gray Catbird should show a contrasting dark cap and rufous
undertail coverts. Both the cap and undertail coverts are visible in your
photo, nicely ruling out that species.
Another thing I should have mentioned is that we can pretty much rule out
an immature, recently fledged bird (which can be pretty drab in some
species) because the photo was taken in May, when most birds are in their
brightest plumage.
Craig Miller
Bend, Oregon
On Fri, May 13, 2016 at 5:23 PM, Hannah Fritz <hannah.fritz@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Almost exactly two years ago (5/19/14) I photographed this bird in a
scrubby, beachy area with mixed deciduous foliage along the Columbia River,
north of St. Helens (Columbia County) about 3 miles.
For some reason I always think of this bird photo and shake my head,
because the ID eludes me. Just for fun I thought I would put this photo out
on here and get an answer finally. I'm sure it's something simple anyways.
It was larger than a bushtit, alone as far as I could tell or hear, and
didn't make any sounds to go off of. It seems to have no wing barring or
marking of any kind. If only it had turned its head before flying off to
the deep underbrush!
Anyhow, someone finally help me lay this mystery to rest.
Hannah
