Sorry, no photo.
A bird I have never seen around here before just landed on my front walk to peck at some bird seed. If I had to pick it out of a line-up for the bird cops, I’d finger the Black-Vented Oriole. Bright yellow belly, jet black top, short beak. Bigger than the finches and LBBs but smaller than the crows.
Small problem: orioles don’t live west of the Rockies, and I’m about as west as you can get without getting your feet wet. So what did I just see? Any suggestions before I go in search of mug shots?
I’m not a birdbrain, but it sounds like the common American Goldfinch.
It was much, much bigger than the finches that eat my seed every day. Common finch - Spitfire. This bird - P-47. Even working with the fact that birds aren’t Catholic, this thing had easily 3 times the mass of a common finch.
Bullock’s Orioles do. I’ve seen them in California.
Much bigger and without the yellow around the eyes. When I mean “yellow,” I don’t mean “bird yellow.” I mean “Krylon yellow.” This bird was bright underneath.
Bingo! One of the breeding areas overlays my town completely.
Thank you!