Female Grosbeak?

[Ally]

Hi I saw this bird this morning and it was very dark. I thought it might be a sparrow, but then the face features match with the female rose-breasted grosbeak. I know the lighting is terrible, (or my skill) Please help ID. Thanks,

[Shortsighted]

It could be a Grosbeak, although the beak profile on your last photo doesn't
seem quite gross enough. The breast streaking fits, the bands on the head
and the notched tail all make it plausible. On a related note, the sudden
appearance of a bird above you on a branch that crosses the brightness of
the sky is an annoying problem for any photographer. Your meter will detect
the bright sky and increase your shutter speed (if you are preset to Av-mode).
You would need superpowers to adjust with right side compensation in an
instant. It's tough enough to get your lens on the subject before is moves and
also achieve a AF lock. I tried to boost the mid-range brightness on your photo
to discern more detail but even that didn't help much. The file resolution was
too low. I saw my first backyard Baltimore Oriole today. I immediately put out
the hummingbird feeder and some oranges but it didn't return yet.

[lovemypt]

The first 2 are White-throated sparrow, if you Photoshop the pictures, the head and facial features appear, 3rd pic is too hiddden

[Ally]

The first 2 are White-throated sparrow, if you Photoshop the pictures, the head and facial features appear, 3rd pic is too hiddden

Haha, too hidden. that answers to my birding problems! and too dark, too windy makes up the rest.

[Ally]

It could be a Grosbeak, although the beak profile on your last photo doesn't
seem quite gross enough. The breast streaking fits, the bands on the head
and the notched tail all make it plausible. On a related note, the sudden
appearance of a bird above you on a branch that crosses the brightness of
the sky is an annoying problem for any photographer. Your meter will detect
the bright sky and increase your shutter speed (if you are preset to Av-mode).
You would need superpowers to adjust with right side compensation in an
instant. It's tough enough to get your lens on the subject before is moves and
also achieve a AF lock. I tried to boost the mid-range brightness on your photo
to discern more detail but even that didn't help much. The file resolution was
too low. I saw my first backyard Baltimore Oriole today. I immediately put out
the hummingbird feeder and some oranges but it didn't return yet.[/quote

haven't seen any orioles yet, but got my bags of oranges ready too!

[Rotarran]

The beaks/bills on the birds you posted are tiny.  Grosbeaks have huge thick beaks compared to White-throated Sparrows.  In fact I think the word "Gros" in Grosbeak is probably German or Dutch for the word "Great" so in essence the bird's name is Rose-breasted "Great"beak.  Keep hitting parks and look for feeders, they love feeders.  

Below is a pic of a Grosbeak to show you how thick that beak is

[Ally]

The beaks/bills on the birds you posted are tiny.  Grosbeaks have huge thick beaks compared to White-throated Sparrows.  In fact I think the word "Gros" in Grosbeak is probably German or Dutch for the word "Great" so in essence the bird's name is Rose-breasted "Great"beak.  Keep hitting parks and look for feeders, they love feeders.  

Below is a pic of a Grosbeak to show you how thick that beak is

Thank you so much for the pic. My pics were too dark. When I saw the bird, a male grosbeak was in the same tree. It was much larger in body size as well.