I just finished a short visit to Colorado. I had a chance to do some birding in Colorado Springs. On my early morning walk around the neighborhood a few blocks east of the Broadmoor Hotel on Wednesday, July 28, I saw a bird that I am 99% certain was a dark male Oregon form of Dark-eyed Junco. I saw this bird sitting high in a tree in the morning sunlight (the sun was behind me as I viewed the bird). The black hood strongly contrasted with the brown back and sides. I ruled out Spotted Towhee by size (though that is subjective when seeing a bird perched high in a tree) and because the hood ended distinctly behind the head, and the back was definitely brown with no spotting and not the darker spotted back and wing contrasting with brown sides of both sexes of the Spotted Towhee. I had seen a couple of Spotted Towhees already that morning in my walk around the neighborhood. I also ruled out male Orchard Oriole and male American Redstart due to the brown back and distinct border of the hood at the back of the head. I lost sight of the bird after a couple of minutes but did not see it fly.
This form is not on the eBird checklist for July in El Paso county, so it may be a very early arrival. Jim Nelson Bethesda, Maryland -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
