Parking Lot Bird Description

[qmorrison]

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!

[Kin Lau]

Northern Mockingbird.

[qmorrison]

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.

[Brian Bailey]

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

[Dr. John]

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

-John

[ichiro17]

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