# What 6' tall bird did I just see in Madison? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 29, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233 "2012-09-29T14:34:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/61 "2012-10-08T09:05:44Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Sounds better than a warped and frustrated old bird… **MeanOldLady**!? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/62 "2012-10-08T10:36:34Z")
Either you have the height wrong or it’s not a native bird. Cranes, turkeys, and herons are not 6 feet tall. I see sandhill cranes and turkeys almost every day and herons every couple weeks for 6 warm months. The turkeys are around all the time in large groups. Sandhills have two different colorations depending on the time of year, but your height is going to have to reduce down for that. they also will walk in the road and do whatever they please ignoring vehicles until they eventually get hit. There are ostrich and emu raised in Wisconsin. For three years in a row a different kangaroo showed up wandering in Wisconsin. Two times between Portage and Wisconsin Dells each never being claimed. The third one was in a different area, but was claimed by the owner. Exotic animals are everywhere. The giant bone found about 20 miles from me a few years ago was from an elephant. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/63 "2012-10-08T10:42:51Z")
My opinion on the bird if you are close on the height, is a tattered old emu. Kept fowl can lose a lot of their feathers. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/64 "2012-10-08T11:20:06Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > Sandhill cranes are white though. The OP said his birds were black. The sand hill cranes around my house are brown! ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/65 "2012-10-08T11:25:03Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Yes, unless it was an extremely dark solid color blue (except for the tail). There were trees behind them, and they were in the shade of the trees, so I didn’t see them in direct sunlight. Could it have been a Blue Heron? I don’t know how big they can get, but in some lights they can look black. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/66 "2012-10-08T12:13:11Z")
Each time I see that there’s a new post in this thread I get so excited, sure that there’s a definitive answer. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/67 "2012-10-08T13:02:27Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > The sand hill cranes around my house are brown! They are rusty brown and turn silvery for part of the year. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/68 "2012-10-08T14:30:37Z")
> [@MacCat](#): > > My boss and I were at a client’s home a couple of days ago and saw a small (chickadee size?) bird seeming to hang out by us in a tree. It was a solid iridescent medium blue with a small white slash on it’s side (I think). Five minutes later, we were in the back yard a few hundred feet away and it showed up by us again, seeming to want to be near us. > > Sorry for the hijack but I’ve tried several times to identify it with no luck and just saw your post. This is on the north shore of Long Island NY where I frequently see Blue Herons, Egrets and even a Bald Eagle a few years ago. [Cerulean Warbler](http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cerulean_Warbler/id)? It’s got the white wing bar you mentioned, and the blue color too. I’m actually reading a book on this species-the author basically goes on a quest after it, since it’s become rather rare over the past few decades (I’ve never seen one tho I live off of its usual migration path). ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/69 "2012-10-08T15:35:02Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > [Cerulean Warbler](http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cerulean_Warbler/id)? It’s got the white wing bar you mentioned, and the blue color too. > > I’m actually reading a book on this species-the author basically goes on a quest after it, since it’s become rather rare over the past few decades (I’ve never seen one tho I live off of its usual migration path). Thanks John. The color on the head and back of the head is right, but the color was solid except for those two distinct white markings. No other white or black or gray or streaking as I remember. I’m wondering if it could be an escapee. I’m expecting to be back up there this week and will try to be prepared with a camera. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/70 "2012-10-08T17:54:46Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > My opinion on the bird if you are close on the height, is a tattered old emu. Kept fowl can lose a lot of their feathers. He admitted he could easily be wrong about the height. I stand by my sandhill crane guess. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/71 "2012-10-08T18:01:35Z")
Ok, I’m sold. I’m gonna go back with a camera and some food and drink and stake the place out this weekend. If these birds are local, and in that conservancy, there’s a decent chance I’ll see them again. I’ll go about the same time as I saw them – about 830 in the morning. And I’ll check look around both Saturday and Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/72 "2012-10-09T01:36:13Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > He admitted he could easily be wrong about the height. I stand by my sandhill crane guess. Yeah, that’s where the smart money goes. Those things can look freaking huge, and their coloration is often more a matter of the mud/dust/dirt they’ve been living in, though they are pretty uniformly a rust brown in my area. But I still swear I saw an ostrich or emu in the northern unit of the Kettle Moraines 2 years or so ago. Even though it was less than a mile from where I’d seen sandhill cranes before. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/73 "2012-10-09T19:17:21Z")
PBS left-winged coots. They run in groups. Some would call them socialist. Endangered if Mitt wins. ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/74 "2012-10-09T21:07:40Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I’m gonna go back with a camera and some food and drink and stake the place out this weekend. Where were you? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/75 "2012-10-09T21:13:07Z")
At the eastern end of Old Sauk Rd. ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/76 "2012-10-09T22:04:19Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > At the eastern end of Old Sauk Rd. Close to [Owen Park](http://www.cityofmadison.com/parks/parks/park.cfm?id=1305)? ---
**Author:** ![SiXSwordS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@SiXSwordS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiXSwordS)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/77 "2012-10-09T22:11:49Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/78 "2012-10-10T20:45:20Z")
Great blue herons are native to Minnesota and Wisconsin. There was a herony on the lake I grew up on and we could have ten of them fishing off the dock in the morning. They probably don’t get to six feet, but five isn’t uncommon. While they are blue grey in good light, in certain light they definately look much darker. Backlit, they are black. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/79 "2012-10-13T13:12:50Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Ok, I’m sold. I’m gonna go back with a camera and some food and drink and stake the place out this weekend. If these birds are local, and in that conservancy, there’s a decent chance I’ll see them again. I’ll go about the same time as I saw them – about 830 in the morning. And I’ll check look around both Saturday and Sunday. See anything? That “eastern end of Old Sauk Rd.” is full of wildlife. Saw a coyote loping along near there there one Saturday morning. _(Hey, maybe you saw a roadrunner!)_ ::d&r:: ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233/80 "2012-10-13T14:31:18Z")
> [@digs](#): > > See anything? > > That “eastern end of Old Sauk Rd.” is full of wildlife. Saw a coyote loping along near there there one Saturday morning. _(Hey, maybe you saw a roadrunner!)_ ::d&r:: Nah, it’s rainy and cold this morning. If the weather’s decent, I’ll try tomorrow. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-6-tall-bird-did-i-just-see-in-madison/636233.md?page=5)