What was this juvenile bird I saw land this morning on the Sunset Strip?
July 12, 2013 1:04 AM Subscribe
This morning I saw a strange sight - an unusual looking juvenile bird landed twice on the median of the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. He seemed lost and unaware of the danger he was in during rush hour morning traffic. Description inside.... What was he??
Mostly brown and rust colored, I imagine his color will change as he gets older.
Body shaped like a Heron, but maybe a bit stouter in the body. Brownish mottled with white feathers on his body and long neck, a noticeable rust colored bushy plume on top of his head.
I can't imagine what he was, or where he came from. We're not that close to the ocean, and most of the Herrons I see inland are blue grey and don't have plumes. My first thought was Pheasant, but the second time he landed confirmed he was NOT a pheasant. As a juvenile, he was already the size of a full grown wild Pheasant common to the area, and also, his neck was way longer and the plume was huge and bushy.
Anyone have any ideas? Thank you!!
Mostly brown and rust colored, I imagine his color will change as he gets older.
Body shaped like a Heron, but maybe a bit stouter in the body. Brownish mottled with white feathers on his body and long neck, a noticeable rust colored bushy plume on top of his head.
I can't imagine what he was, or where he came from. We're not that close to the ocean, and most of the Herrons I see inland are blue grey and don't have plumes. My first thought was Pheasant, but the second time he landed confirmed he was NOT a pheasant. As a juvenile, he was already the size of a full grown wild Pheasant common to the area, and also, his neck was way longer and the plume was huge and bushy.
Anyone have any ideas? Thank you!!
My first thought was juvenile tricolored as well, but juveniles aren't plumed - only adults in breeding season are.
Herons don't need to be close to the ocean, just close to a water source (stream, golf course lake, someone's koi pond).
Pheasants and herons are very different looking. Did the bird seem to have quite long legs? Was its bill long or short?
Another possibility is that it someone's escaped exotic something from somewhere, as California doesn't have any native birds with plumes that I would call huge and bushy, but that may be a matter of interpretation.
You can spend some time poking around on Cornell's site and on whatbird - both links go to tricolored heron, but you can use the "similar species" thing on the pages to explore more.
posted by rtha at 5:36 AM on July 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
Herons don't need to be close to the ocean, just close to a water source (stream, golf course lake, someone's koi pond).
Pheasants and herons are very different looking. Did the bird seem to have quite long legs? Was its bill long or short?
Another possibility is that it someone's escaped exotic something from somewhere, as California doesn't have any native birds with plumes that I would call huge and bushy, but that may be a matter of interpretation.
You can spend some time poking around on Cornell's site and on whatbird - both links go to tricolored heron, but you can use the "similar species" thing on the pages to explore more.
posted by rtha at 5:36 AM on July 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Egret, Heron - we're in the right ballpark folks - except the rust colored plume on top of it's head was large and bushy!
Yes, long legs & long neck.
Please keep the ideas coming! This bird looked exotic for the neighborhood, that's for sure:))
posted by jbenben at 9:07 AM on July 12, 2013
Yes, long legs & long neck.
Please keep the ideas coming! This bird looked exotic for the neighborhood, that's for sure:))
posted by jbenben at 9:07 AM on July 12, 2013
Tri-colored heron has white plumes on top of its head, but shaggy reddish plumes on its neck and back.
Are there any birds in the links here that look more like (or don't look at all like) the bird you saw? Was the entire body white? The tri-colored has a white belly, but its upper parts are mostly dark. There are some excellent photos here. Other herons are mostly dark; egrets (cattle, greater, and snowy are our West Coast egrets) are all white, though some may show a limited amount of buff/tan coloration on the upper body during breeding season. Still, the overall impression of egrets is going to be "white bird."
In North America, only adult, breeding-age herons and egrets are plumed, and then only in breeding season. And I can't think of any with large, bushy plumes on the top of the head.
posted by rtha at 9:52 AM on July 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
Are there any birds in the links here that look more like (or don't look at all like) the bird you saw? Was the entire body white? The tri-colored has a white belly, but its upper parts are mostly dark. There are some excellent photos here. Other herons are mostly dark; egrets (cattle, greater, and snowy are our West Coast egrets) are all white, though some may show a limited amount of buff/tan coloration on the upper body during breeding season. Still, the overall impression of egrets is going to be "white bird."
In North America, only adult, breeding-age herons and egrets are plumed, and then only in breeding season. And I can't think of any with large, bushy plumes on the top of the head.
posted by rtha at 9:52 AM on July 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: This bird was mottled brown with a large bushy rust colored plume. He looked juvenile to me, as though his feathers would change with maturity. All told with neck and long legs, he was about a foot and a quarter high - maybe more.
I'm pretty observant, and I have never seen anything like it before.
The bushy red/rust colored plume was on TOP of his head!
posted by jbenben at 11:03 AM on July 12, 2013
I'm pretty observant, and I have never seen anything like it before.
The bushy red/rust colored plume was on TOP of his head!
posted by jbenben at 11:03 AM on July 12, 2013
Best answer: Mottled brown like a juvenile black-crowned night heron (which would be about the right size, but has no plumes)?
I'm not doubting your observational skills, it's just that juvenile herons and egrets do not have plumes.
Your other best bet would be to check with your local birding groups. On this page you can scroll around for posts from birders in your area; if it's an exotic (i.e. non-native) or other kind of weirdo bird, someone is likely to have noticed. You can also sign up for the list that serves your area and ask the question there, too.
posted by rtha at 11:11 AM on July 12, 2013
I'm not doubting your observational skills, it's just that juvenile herons and egrets do not have plumes.
Your other best bet would be to check with your local birding groups. On this page you can scroll around for posts from birders in your area; if it's an exotic (i.e. non-native) or other kind of weirdo bird, someone is likely to have noticed. You can also sign up for the list that serves your area and ask the question there, too.
posted by rtha at 11:11 AM on July 12, 2013
Response by poster: I'm gonna contact those resources! Thanks everyone. I do suspect that whatever it was, it was non-native or just very rare.
Bushy, rust colored plume. I did a double take when I saw it. What a mystery!!
Thanks again!
posted by jbenben at 1:36 PM on July 12, 2013
Bushy, rust colored plume. I did a double take when I saw it. What a mystery!!
Thanks again!
posted by jbenben at 1:36 PM on July 12, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
Was it long-legged like a heron? Thin long beak or another shape?
posted by ApathyGirl at 2:18 AM on July 12, 2013 [1 favorite]