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Need help with a bird id



     This morning as I was walking the RR track behind the Methodist
College golf course, I spotted a bird in the weeds and brush that seemed
odd to me.  A few minutes earlier I had seen a blue grosbeak sitting on the
telephone wires by the track.  This bird was blue with blackish wings and
tail.  It lacked the chestnut wingbars of the blue grosbeak but it showed a
narrow strip of tan (buff)  on its flanks just below the wings.  I suspect
that if I had seen it with its wings raised, the tan would have extended
upward under the wings.  The bird also had a very dark cap on the top of
its head, dark blue or nearly black.  The dark crest reminded me of the
dark cap on a gray catbird.  Overall I thought the bird looked a little
large for an indigo bunting, but no other bird was available for making a
direct comparison and viewing a bird through binoculars tends to skew my
size impressions anyway.
     When I first spotted this bird, I thought it was an indigo bunting,
but after taking two very good looks at it, I wasn't certain, especially
because of the tan/buff along the flanks.  I need some help from folks with
more experience with grosbeaks and buntings.  What was it?

Bob


--------------------------------------------------
Robert C. Perkins, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Methodist College, Fayetteville, NC 28311
910-630-7037     rperkins@methodist.edu