What bird is this? It's not always the first answer.

My search to identify this bird came up with numerous false answers.

I have to admit, when I see a bird I can't identify, I am always hopeful it is a species I haven't seen before.  Sometimes it is easy identifying the bird, but often checking my books and using the internet proves either faulty or fruitless.  This was the case in this photo.  What bird was this?

It was gray, about the size of a robin, and was eating berries.  It seemed to have dark primary feathers, no eye ring, and a dark beak.  I entered those qualities in Google and was rewarded with the answer of a gray catbird.  Except there was no black cap.  I have photographed them before (see below), and that couldn't be it.

Grey catbird I photographed in Osoyoos some years ago.  Notice the black cap.

So then I pasted the image into the Google search engine and it came back with a juvenile starling.  However, there were also photos of a Clark's nutcracker as other options.  The gray body and black wings suggested that was a possibility.  To be sure, I posted the image on one of my favourite birding groups - "British Columbia Birds".  

The answer came back in seconds (thanks Ryan Lewis) and was later verified by a few others.  Juvenile starling.  I have to admit, I was hoping for the nutcracker, and starlings are not particularly birds to get excited over.  However, it was also a learning opportunity.  Really - a juvenile starling.  Not on my radar for sure, but now I know what to look for.

Besides, I like the photo.  I took it with my 500 mm PF Nikon on my D500 body with a 1.4x teleconverter attached.  We were exploring the estuary near Duncan, BC, during a low tide.  It was probably the most interesting bird we saw, that is, until now.  We also saw many herons, lots of swallows, and a pair of cedar waxwings.  And I got some nice photos, especially one of a juvenile starling that gave me quite a surprise.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com

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