ML129861651

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

The bird was seen in a leafless tree from my car at a distance of about 30-50 ft in overcast late afternoon light using 10X binoculars. When I saw the bird I knew immediately that it was a female Brown-headed Cowbirds. It was a smallish blackbird-type with a heavy bill. I was confident that the species was rare so I made the effort to get a photo (unfortunately a poor iphone photo). The bird was a pale grayish to brownish color...rather bland, with a pale white throat. Cowbirds appear to me to have very little forehead so the bill looks somewhat bulky. It was not a Red-winged Blackbird for it had no indication of the epaulet markings. It was not a Rusty Blackbird as the bill was too thick and the bird appeared to be smaller than those blackbirds, but it was larger than the House Sparrows that were below it. It was not a Bronzed Cowbird female tends to be darker and has red eye. I hope that in the photo it can be seen that the bird was not a House Sparrow. wish I had a better photo.

Technical information

Model

iPhone 5s

Lens

iPhone 5s back camera 4.12mm f/2.2

ISO

32

Focal length

4.1 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/2.2

Shutter speed

1/1414 sec

Dimensions

3264 pixels x 2448 pixels

Original file size

1.16 MB