LOL as panama said :)

I should have some good shots to share with you all when I get home. I am visiting my mom and playing in my playground and original home, the San Francisco Bay Area.

bigbirdus sesameviacos is genderless ;)

Saw this in NY, NY. Can you tell if it's male or female, Gentoo?

picture from muppet wiki.

What panama said. The only other possibility would be a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher but they are tiny and would be rare in the Bay Area.

Looks like a northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)

Here's a grey bird from the San Francisco Bay area. It was right outside my parent's house.

alphanikonrex said:
I think Gentoo said somewhere that he hated the gentoos!

Yeah they were not my favorite at the time. I like the name though.

warprints said:
Gentoo - why no pics of the Gentoo Penguin??

It's funny you asked that because I once worked with Gentoo Penguins. But I wasn't a photographer yet.

Gentoo said:
Throat patch looks pretty white to me. Looks like an adult. Sexes cannot be distinguished as is the case for almost all of our native sparrows. Yeah the color of the head stripes is genetic; the tan striped birds are recessive. White-Throats are the only zonotrichias (and I think our only sparrow) to be polymorphic.

That bird wouldn't have a mate right now. Perhaps a flock it goes around with this time of year, often mixes species flocks. Look for some white-crowns among them too.

Hmmm, interesting. It looks like I'll go looking for it's flock then—maybe I'll be able to catch a white-crown :^) Thanks for the info Gentoo.

warprints said:
Gentoo - why no pics of the Gentoo Penguin??

I think Gentoo said somewhere that he hated the gentoos!

ShadeofBlue said:
That shot really evoked winter, Alpha. I like it a lot.

Thanks ShadeofBlue. It was the first big snow of the season, and with all those birds out there I simply could not miss the opportunity. It took me a while to find this bird. I kept on hearing a chirping nearby but I couldn't quite figure out where it was coming from. I got quite a few good shots of this bird eating berries off of the bush. My equipment got all covered in snow as it was still snowing heavily. I didn't mind but my dad did :^(

Gentoo - why no pics of the Gentoo Penguin??

alphanikonrex said:
Thanks a bunch Gentoo! Such a detailed analysis! :^)

That's so fascinating—do you have any idea why its throat is browner?

So from my understanding the head stripes are simply genetic and are "randomly distributed" in nests, right? BTW, can you tell if it's male or female? I wonder if I can find its mate somewhere around here . . .

Thanks again!

Throat patch looks pretty white to me. Looks like an adult. Sexes cannot be distinguished as is the case for almost all of our native sparrows. Yeah the color of the head stripes is genetic; the tan striped birds are recessive. White-Throats are the only zonotrichias (and I think our only sparrow) to be polymorphic.

That bird wouldn't have a mate right now. Perhaps a flock it goes around with this time of year, often mixes species flocks. Look for some white-crowns among them too.

That shot really evoked winter, Alpha. I like it a lot.

There's always a bunch of small birds about a 10 minute walk away from my house, but I have to clean and pack all day tomorrow since I have a flight in the evening :(. I think they're Robins, but I really doubt I will have time to take any shots.

Thanks a bunch Gentoo! Such a detailed analysis! :^)

That's so fascinating—do you have any idea why its throat is browner?

So from my understanding the head stripes are simply genetic and are "randomly distributed" in nests, right? BTW, can you tell if it's male or female? I wonder if I can find its mate somewhere around here . . .

Thanks again!

Alpha what you have there is a very nice White-Throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicolis). It resembles the closely related White-Crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) I frequently post:

http://www.pbase.com/shonn/image/119602965

Notice the throat patch on your bird is more prominent and it's browner even than the brownest coastal White-Crowns. As far as the head striping, your particular bird is of the tan striped phase. They other slightly more common phase has black and white head stripes just like the white-crowned. The head striping in white-throats is a result of polymorphism with both forms occurring from the same nest. Generally tan striped birds seek out white striped birds when mating. It's not sex related either.

Hey Gentoo do you think you can ID this for me? It looks like a sparrow or something. Thanks! :^)

Maybe. Bird sizes are deceptive unless you can have a direct comparison. For a difference like this, even experts would have to see a pair side by side to tell which is which. Great Horned Owls are large birds altogether.

So I guess this was a female Great Horned Owl then. She was very large and very beautiful. Thanks for the info Gentoo I figured you could clear it up for me. Appreciate it.

It would be a Great Horned as Mags. are restricted to South America. The coloring of GHO varies considerably from one region to another. Typical eastern birds have the orange face we're used to seeing in pictures. Birds of the boreal forest are very pale, almost ghostly looking while birds from most of the pacific coast are often quite dark.

Sex is best told by size. Females being up to a third larger than males.

Taken last year around March or April on an "expedition" in Northern Mexico. I've been told it's a Great but also that it's a Magellanic. I've also been told that the color is not the right shade to be a Great. Could it be an adolescent so it's colors haven't "matured"? Is that possible?

Is it possible to tell the gender by the markings? Or is that an old wives' tale?

Magellanic Horned Owls are in South America only. Until recently, they were considered part of the Great Horned Owl. The latter is more widespread throughout North America and parts of South America I believe. Where you took this pic will make a difference but this bird looks to me like a Great Horned Owl. Likely not of a western NA race as it's paler then the birds out here.

I woke up this morning and this was at the foot of my bed :^o

Joking, but I'm sure this is a super easy one for you Gentoo, I kinda feel stupid for even asking, but what kind of horned owl is this? Is it a Magellanic or a Great. And an even dumber question is whether it's male or female? I've been told you can tell by the markings and colors on the body. Is that true? What say you great wise one of the birds :)

Must be a weird molt cycle then which does happen. It does appear advanced enough for the partial spring molt but those molted wing feathers threw me off.

gentoo - this picture has been taken not more than a month ago, thanks for providing the latin name - this plus wikipedia allows me to find the name in many different languages

Adamz, as I suspected, your bird is a third cycle Herring Gull. It looks like it was likely taken in the fall as it appears to be growing in some of it's wing feathers still. Larus argentatus would be it's scientific name. Use this if you cannot find an English name.