For the last couple of days this bird was sitting on our fence and I can`t find out what kind it is. Its a brown bird with a light belly and has three bands across the tail. One at the base just below where it meets the body, another midway and one slightly above the end of the tail. Fairly large bird, larger than the ones we normally have here and both times I have seen it, it held it head at an unusual angle upward. Beak was shorter and thicker than you would think on a bird of this size. At first glance I thought it was a young roadrunner before I got a closer look. When I drove by in the golf cart it flew back into the trees across the street. Any ideas what it is ? Remember I am in NE Texas. Whatever it is I have never seen one like it.
No, More the shape of a cardinal`s, kind of triangular but longer. And with that upturned head looked a bit odd. It gave me the impression that it was looking upward but it really wasn`t. Throat was white or light colored and body and tail was brown but had those three darker bands across the tail.
Could this be your bird Mart? It's the only one from your area that has the three bars on its tail. http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j& ... 5112840458
Few more tidbits about this bird, Found out we have a pair of them, Female is smaller than the male but its larger than our resident mockingbird and male is twice the size of the mocking bird. Tale is square across the end and its song,, if you want to call it that,,is a series of rapid clicks. When I first heard it I thought it was a woodpecker pecking a tree till I found where the sound was coming from. They have both been hanging around our apple trees. Still trying to get a pic if I can catch them close enough. Haven`t been able to check the males tale again, wanted to make sure I saw those bars across it instead of a shadow of some sort !!
I'm really intrigued about these birds now. I hope you can get a picture of them so that we can see them for ourselves. Even a shot from fairly far away might be of some use in helping us ID them for you.
I found it ! Yellow Billed Cuckoo,,it has patches on the tail which look like bands when viewed from a distance. They say its a common woodland bird that is all over Texas during breeding season (summer) and migrates to South America in winter. Commonly called a Rain Crow.
Well done in IDing your mystery bird Mart. I'd still like to see a photograph though if you can manage it. We don't have birds like that here in Scotland.
Tomorrow I will post a link to the info on it. On my way to bed now. Company this weekend so I am bushed.
