[va-richmond-general] Kingbird?
- From: "Jim Blowers" <jimvb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2008 08:54:43 -0500
This morning when walking out in the neighborhood, I saw a bright white blob
near the top of a tall tree. I checked it out with my binoculars. It was a
bird. The bird had an all-white breast and the tip of its tail was white.
The rest of the bird's plumage was dark gray or black. The beak looked
white, and it was moderately long and pointy, and the eyes seemed black, but
there seemed to be a faint gray ring around the eyes. The bird seemed the
size of a robin.
I looked in the bird books and tried to identify it. Not too many birds have
white on their tails. It wasn't a bald eagle because the eagle has a typical
curved eagle beak, which this bird did not have, and the bird had a dark
head. After looking a considerable amount of time, I concluded that it was
an Eastern Kingbird (tyrannus tyrannus).
The problem with this identification is that the bird is out of range here
at this time of the year. It is found all over the place in the East, but
only in the summer. It is not likely to be another tyrant, because the other
tyrants are even rarer. The white beak does not match, but I wonder if early
in the morning, the Sun's angle could have changed the beak's color. If
indeed it was a kingbird, it is the second bird I have found recently that
is out of season here. It's like the migration is beginning a month too
early.
Was it a kingbird?
I also found a wood thrush this morning.
Jim Blowers
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