Outdoor Ontario

Request for Information => Bird ID => Topic started by: qmorrison on December 02, 2008, 11:11:05 PM

Title: Parking Lot Bird Description
Post by: qmorrison on December 02, 2008, 11:11:05 PM

I happened upon a bird today in a parking lot (of all places) but when I tried to look it up in my bird book I couldn't find anything that looked like it.

It was dark grey with a slender robin-like build and hopped along the ground similar to a robin or jay. It's tail pattern had a flash of white when it flew away (similar to a junco) and it had white bars along the bottom of it's wings. I thought it could be a type of thrasher at the time but there's nothing like that in my bird book.

Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks!

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Post by: Kin Lau on December 02, 2008, 11:12:47 PM

Northern Mockingbird.

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Post by: qmorrison on December 02, 2008, 11:20:06 PM

Oh pfft. And here I thought something like that wouldn't make it up here (I guess the 'Northern' should have tipped me off). Thanks for taking the time to enlighten me.

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Post by: Brian Bailey on December 03, 2008, 12:48:07 PM

Don't read too much into bird names.  They are expanding their range northward.  Twenty years ago, it would have been quite unusual to see a Northern Mockingbird this far north.  They're now year-round residents in Toronto, but much less conspicuous in winter.

BB

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Post by: Dr. John on December 03, 2008, 05:30:05 PM

I think the "northern" part was to distinguish it from more tropical mockingbirds.

-John

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Post by: ichiro17 on December 03, 2008, 09:41:13 PM

See them all the time at the GO station parking lots in Etobicoke.  Awesome little birds