Sitting at the dinner table last night I was watching the birds come for their own suppers. I had spread some black oilers on the deck railing and refreshed their bath water in anticipation of watching them while we ate.

The fresh water was a big draw as any number of birds showed up for a quick bath. Then this bird arrived. She didn’t look like any of my regulars.

Bigger than a gold finch, about the size of a warbler, but not a yellow warbler.

Greenish gold with darker wings and a little tuft on white near her shoulder.

Luckily my camera was right behind me on the kitchen counter, and the bird wasn’t upset by my reaching for it.

All these shots are through a window, with reflections splashed across the image.

I think, based on my Michigan bird book, it’s a female Evening Grosbeak.

We’re not supposed to have them around here, though they were here a couple of winters ago. Mostly they live way up north. So it could be something else.

What do you think?
September 5, 2024 at 5:40 am
Maybe a juvenile male scarlet tanager?
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September 5, 2024 at 7:50 am
Very possibly. I thought evening grosbeak because of that white poof of feather on top of the wing…but it looked a LOT like a female scarlet tanger too. I don’t have a pic of a juvie. I’ll go look on the internet!
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September 5, 2024 at 12:28 pm
I’m sure you know about the Merlin Bird ID app, maybe that could help identify her? She does look beautiful. And could you be on the migration path for her?
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September 5, 2024 at 6:24 am
We have similar looking birds here, they are sunbirds but they have longer and curved beaks.
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September 5, 2024 at 7:51 am
What part of the world do you live in, Lakshmi? Thank you for commenting!
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September 5, 2024 at 10:33 am
I live in the state of Karnataka in South India. We live in a small town not far from the Arabian Sea.
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September 5, 2024 at 7:16 am
I didn’t have a clue, so I got my ID app out, and every single view identified your bird as a scarlet tanager. Like Denise suggested, it could be a juvenile — the adult males are easier to ID!
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September 5, 2024 at 7:52 am
No kidding, right? I’ve only seen a male scarlet tanger 2x in my life, never here, though other people around this part of the state have seen them. It could well be…my bird book has the female, not a juvie. That white feather on the wing though…I don’t know. I will look online.
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September 5, 2024 at 7:43 am
Could be! While we have evening gross beaks in Maine, they don’t often come to our house on the edge of the woods. I really like the picture of the bathing bird.
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September 5, 2024 at 7:53 am
I bet you do have them up there! They are in Michigan in the upper part of the lower and across the UP. Mostly seen in winter in the Lower Peninsulia, not usually here at all.
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September 5, 2024 at 9:23 am
How cool is that? I can’t help you because I am clueless when it comes to identifying anything outside of the obvious!
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September 6, 2024 at 4:38 pm
The general consensus is that it was a female scarlet tanger! 🙂
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September 6, 2024 at 4:46 pm
Yay for our readers!
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September 5, 2024 at 12:00 pm
Greenfinch?
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September 6, 2024 at 4:40 pm
I looked the Greenfinch up, and it does look like this in coloring. But we don’t have those here in Michigan…so I doubt it…unless it’s way off course!
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September 5, 2024 at 1:26 pm
It does look a lot like the Evening Grosbeak, but then I’ve never seen a Scarlet Tanager, so maybe . . . I used to get the Grosbeaks in droves every year when I still lived in Southern Oregon.
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September 6, 2024 at 4:40 pm
It must have been fun to have so many of them. I had 2 or 3 of the males on my deck the winter before last for one late afternoon. They generally stay north of us.
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September 5, 2024 at 1:45 pm
Sorry I can’t help you, but I’m clueless when it comes to bird ID (unless it’s one of our regulars!). My late dad was into birding a bit, but sadly we can’t ask him. Despite shooting through the window, you’ve got some good pictures here. Isn’t it interesting when birds bathe? You can almost feel their relief at a good soaking!
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September 6, 2024 at 4:41 pm
I think the water is as much a draw as the feeders. They just love to hang out in or near it. All kinds of birds take baths and drink from it too, even after a long rain when there’s water everywhere.
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September 5, 2024 at 3:20 pm
Wouldn’t a grosbeak have a fatter-looking beak?
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September 6, 2024 at 4:42 pm
Yes I think so. It was the only one that seemed to fit the color scheme…but most people think it’s a female scarlet tanger, which is most likely what it is. That white feather near the wing still stumps me though.
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September 5, 2024 at 7:27 pm
I sadly do not know my birds. But I absolutely love the photos that you took. So fun!
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September 6, 2024 at 4:42 pm
Yes I was so lucky the camera was within reach and the light let me shoot through the window.
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September 5, 2024 at 9:43 pm
I’d like that entertainment out my window as well. I don’t know that bird and it might be molting so difficult to tell. You could post it on “What’s This Bird?” on Facebook. It’s not just for Michigan Birds and they will likely know. There are 116,000 members.
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September 6, 2024 at 4:43 pm
Good idea, I’ll try it.
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September 6, 2024 at 9:20 pm
Hi Dawn – I may have your answer. I’ve followed Jocelyn Anderson, a birder and bird photographer, on FB for years. She posted a photo which looks like this bird and I’ll put the link to the post separately so it doesn’t go to SPAM. She identified the bird and wrote: “Bay-breasted Warblers are one of the warblers that undergo a drastic change in plumage between Spring and Fall. In the Spring these birds have rich red-brown coloring. This one is fueling up to help continue his/her migration to South America.”
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September 6, 2024 at 9:28 pm
I love her photos. I think I’ve seen her out at Kensington. I’ve learned a lot from her too. I’ll go look at your link next.
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September 6, 2024 at 9:40 pm
I followed her first on Twitter – the photos and videos plus her comments are great. My favorite photos were the series of the Canada Goose and Colt being raised together. The link didn’t end up going to SPAM – you never know though.
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September 6, 2024 at 9:20 pm
Here’s the link to Jocelyn’s photo. I learn a lot about birding from her posts:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/KE3ot8w8srDsX2Hz/
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September 6, 2024 at 9:30 pm
Could be a possibility!
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September 6, 2024 at 9:37 pm
I thought so too!
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September 6, 2024 at 5:37 am
Hmm, I have no idea, and I would’ve just assumed she was a finch. You have a good eye for details.
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September 6, 2024 at 4:44 pm
It was definitely bigger than my goldfinches. Almost a warbler, though maybe it was a different warbler than the yellow warbler we had one day last week. Most people think it’s a female scarlet tanger. I’ve only ever seen one, maybe 2 scarlet tangers in my life…none here at the house.
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September 7, 2024 at 7:19 am
Fun! And I’m pretty sure it’s a female (or young male) scarlet tanager. 🙂
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September 7, 2024 at 9:30 am
Very likely!
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