# Help me identify this bird
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 20, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685 "2008-11-20T18:37:44Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/1 "2008-11-20T18:37:44Z")
No picture, so I’ll settle for a web site I can browse if no one can identify the bird from its description.
Seen in Monterey, CA, the bird is about the size (length) of a bluejay, but more robust. It has dark, speckled feathers (green flecks on the belly), and was seen munching on figs. The flock was bout 15 or 20 birds, but that might have been dictated by the size of the fig tree, which was only about 8 ft high. I wish I had snapped a picture, because it was a very cool looking bird. I tried to google “birds in Monterey”, but didn’t get anything useful.
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### Author:  [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/2 "2008-11-20T19:03:47Z")
“Dark, speckled bird in large group” says [European Starling](http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/European_Starling.html) to me. However, they’re somewhat smaller than [blue jays](http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Blue_Jay.html) (or the [Steller’s jays](http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Stellers_Jay.html) and [scrub jays](http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Western_Scrub-Jay.html) you have out west.)
More data would be useful — did it have a long tail? Was it uniformly dark, or lighter on the underside? Did it have a crest? Were the birds chattering to each other, and if so what did it sound like?
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### Author:  [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/3 "2008-11-20T19:26:23Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> The flock was bout 15 or 20 birds
Starling flocks can occasionally be [larger](http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8xkvaO04pcc&feature=related).
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### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/4 "2008-11-20T19:40:45Z")
You can take a trip through [a checklist of birds of Monterey County](http://montereybay.com/creagrus/MTYbirdlistportal.html) and see if anything looks familiar. I’d say you can skip the first 4 or 5 sections, as the description you gave pretty much rules out water and wading birds.
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### Author:  [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2008, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/5 "2008-11-20T19:49:12Z")
They might not be local; I’m thinking it’s still migrating time, and figs would be a good high-energy snack.
There are, of course, a buttload of species that migrate from waaaay up in Canada and Alaska down the Pacific Coast (Pacific Flyway).
I’ll see if I can google up something…
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### Author:  [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/6 "2008-11-21T00:52:57Z")
I’m voting for [Flicker.](http://www.wbu.com/chipperwoods/photos/nflicker.htm)
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### Author:  [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/7 "2008-11-21T00:55:18Z")
Do flickers flock? I’ve only seen them singly or in pairs.
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### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/8 "2008-11-21T00:57:18Z")
Is that a flock of flickers? It’s where the flickers flock.
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### Author:  [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/9 "2008-11-21T01:01:24Z")
Yep, [Flickers Flock](http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&issn=0004-8038&volume=120&issue=02&page=0429&ct=1).
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### Author:  [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/10 "2008-11-21T02:58:12Z")
[Whatbird](http://identify.whatbird.com/mwg/_/0/attrs.aspx) is a good site for bird identification.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/11 "2008-11-21T16:29:37Z")
> [@MikeS](#):
>
> “Dark, speckled bird in large group” says [European Starling](http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/European_Starling.html) to me. However, they’re somewhat smaller than [blue jays](http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Blue_Jay.html) (or the [Steller’s jays](http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Stellers_Jay.html) and [scrub jays](http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Western_Scrub-Jay.html) you have out west.)
>
> More data would be useful — did it have a long tail? Was it uniformly dark, or lighter on the underside? Did it have a crest? Were the birds chattering to each other, and if so what did it sound like?
That is close, but I think it was a bit bigger. My first thought was starling, but I thought starlings were smaller, and they seem to be in that picture.
It wasn’t a flicker. The flecks were much smaller and there was no red patch on the head.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/12 "2008-11-21T16:34:55Z")
> [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](#):
>
> [Whatbird](http://identify.whatbird.com/mwg/_/0/attrs.aspx) is a good site for bird identification.
I like that site. I’ll poke around a bit-- my first attempt did not find work.
Thanks, all. I wish I had more info, and will definitely make a point to bring my camera next time I’m down there. This was a very striking bird.
**jayjay** : Yeah, I like your site, too. Thanks.
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### Author:  [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/13 "2008-11-21T16:42:36Z")
paging **Colibri** …
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### Author:  [@spoike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spoike)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/14 "2008-11-21T16:55:58Z")
Could it possibly be a [grackle](http://images.google.com/images?q=grackle&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title)? Grackles and starlings are sometimes confused for one another.
There are both [Common Grackles](http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&c2coff=1&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=common+grackle&btnG=Search+Images) and [Great-Tailed Grackles](http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&c2coff=1&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=great+tailed+grackle&btnG=Search+Images) in Monterey, according to\*\* jayjay\*\*'s website.
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### Author:  [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/15 "2008-11-21T17:02:37Z")
I don’t think this is necessarily what **John** was seeing based on the speckling, green flecks and the size of the flock ( at least in that area, where I assume they’re still uncommon ), but poking around I was surprised to find that Common and Great-Tailed Grackles are now invading Monterey county as of 1999-2000.
[http://montereybay.com/creagrus/grackles.html](http://montereybay.com/creagrus/grackles.html)
[http://montereybay.com/creagrus/MTY\_2000.html](http://montereybay.com/creagrus/MTY_2000.html)
ETA: Hah! Beaten to the punch :D.
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### Author:  [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/16 "2008-11-21T17:05:52Z")
Good thing it wasn’t a fucking flock of fifteen flecked flickers flamboyantly flocking in a fiercely flaming fucking fig tree.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/17 "2008-11-21T17:06:28Z")
> [@CC](#):
>
> paging **Colibri** …
I didn’t think there was enough information in the OP to venture a guess. I would need a more detailed description to speculate.
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### Author:  [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/18 "2008-11-21T17:27:11Z")
I was going to go with [Bohemian Waxwing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_waxwing) or [Cedar Waxwing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Waxwing) based not only on the diet, but the similarity to something I saw in Oregon. Speckled feathers doesn’t really fit, but I don’t know what you saw for sure.
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### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/19 "2008-11-21T19:22:13Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#):
>
> I was going to go with [Bohemian Waxwing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_waxwing) or [Cedar Waxwing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_Waxwing) based not only on the diet, but the similarity to something I saw in Oregon. Speckled feathers doesn’t really fit, but I don’t know what you saw for sure.
No crest like that. It really did look a lot like a starling, but just bigger and more robust. Plus there was the beautiful plumage with the green flecks.
But after looking at all the pictures people have suggested, I think my remembered image of the bird has been polluted. 🙂 Seriously, I need to get a picture of one of those suckers the next time I’m down there. Should be within the next few weeks. There were plenty of unripe figs on that tree, so they should be feasting for some time to come.
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### Author:  [@JustThinkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustThinkin)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-bird/473685/20 "2008-11-21T22:14:04Z")
I betting it’s an immature something, but I couldn’t guess what. A lot of the youngsters (and females) of their species are more speckled than the adult males (who are usually the striking ones).
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