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Your bird is an Indigo Bunting, the "yellow" beak is cause by the way the light is reflecting off of it.

 

Is it a male Blue Grosbeak?  It doesn't have the two ruddy wingbars (just one), but the other features seem to fit.  The bill doesn't really look yellow to me, though.

Could the Yellow-Billed Blue Finch (Porphyrospiza caerulescens) be the mystery bird that this thread is about?  I posted a photo in Minnesota Birds.  Yes, the photo I posted is not an Indigo Bunting.  This thread is obviously not about trying to identify an Indigo Bunting.   

-Brian

If this was only in one place, then it is possible that the bird is an escaped cage bird, and could be a Yellow Beaked Blue Finch, though not too likely, because I don't think they are kept as pets. A wild specimen has never been in the United States, so it can't be a wild Blue Finch. The only logical bird it could be is an Indigo Bunting.

Is this the photo?

http://www.whatbird.com/forums/photos/unknown_birds/images/12722/original.aspx

That's an Indigo Bunting with a gray bill.  I do not see a "banana yellow" at all.  Please tell me where is the yellow? 

Brian, yes your bird, Yellow-billed Blue Finch, fits the descriptions exactly.  Did you get permission from the photogapher to post here?  Better to just post a link to the photo:

http://www.fieldguides.com/centbrazil.htm 

Thanks for solving the mystery.   Now I'm a believer. 

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Joseph Morlan
Fall Birding Classes in San Francisco start October 28

No, the bird I saw a week ago here in Minnesota is NOT an indigo bunting.  It looks exactly like, if it is not infact, a Yellow-Billed Blue Finch.  I've seen every year for the past three years.  It is not an indigo bunting, it has a smaller yellow beak than the indigo bunting and its blue color is more striking.  I've seen it, have you?

 -Brian

Thank you Joe Morlan,  I removed the photo from the Gallery and only refer to the website.  I've sent an email to fieldguides.com to let them know about this post.  I hope they approve the use of their photo of a Yellow-Billed Blue Finch.

All, please visit the following link for a bird fitting the descriptions given by the original posters of this thread. 

http://www.fieldguides.com/centbrazil.htm

All the photos of Indigo Buntings are only casting doubt and confusion on this thread.  There are tricky photography issues related to the reflective nature of the Indigo Bunting's beak.  The Yellow-Billed Blue Finch fits the description and has the unmistakable yellow beak.  I've seen this bird (yellow billed blue finch) or one exactly like it here in Minnesota.  When seen, the yellow beak is unmistakable.  The little bird is very hard to photograph.  Even zoomed in with a digital camera will most likely show the beek fuzzy and thus cast doubt.  It is an elusive bird.  We generally see it at dusk.

-Brian

The photographer of the Yellow-Billed Blue Finch at  http://www.fieldguides.com/centbrazil.htm has sent me the following information. 

"This is a Yellow-billed Blue-Finch (Porphyrospiza caerulescens), endemic to the
rocky cerrado habitat of central Brazil. It is non-migratory, and it is
virtually impossible that one (let alone multiple) individuals would/could
show up in North America, not even from cage escapees/releases because it is
not kept in cages anywhere we are aware of.  But it sure is a fantastic
bird!  Come on the Field Guides "Safari Brazil" (www.fieldguides.com) tour,
offered in October every year, for a good chance at finding this very
special species in the wild.  Information posted by the photographer, Bret Whitney, of Field Guides Inc. in Austin, TX."

-Brian

 

Thank you for identifying this bird.  The Yellow-billed Blue Finch is definitely the bird that my wife and I saw in Virginia Beach, VA in early May.  I hope that it is expanding it's range up into North America and that we get to see it again.

 Thanks,

Gus and Bobbie

There is a 100% chance that the bird you saw is not a Yellow Billed Blue Finch. As seen by the reply from the website where the picture was in, it is impossible for the Blue Finch to be seen in North America as a wild bird, and it is also not kept as a cage bird, which means it can't be an escapee, therefore, the bird you saw is not the Blue Finch, but most likely an Indigo Bunting.

amazing posts here.. reminds me of the mass sightings that occur occasionally throughout the world , of UFO's....if you have almost any photo editing software  programs take one of the pictures of the  yellow beaked bird,  and use the eye dropper tool, and click around in the beak area... you wont find a single pixel that is yellow... sorry, but that is life....So, like in the pursuit of UFO's, good photograph proof will make us non-believers feel really dumb...so you believers, camp out, camera in hand, near your feeder, and send us good  photo proof...good luck, and am looking forward to feeling dumber

Ephily, Other skeptics,

 I agree, given that the information from the guide is fact, that I did NOT see a Brazilian Yellow-Billed Blue Finch.  But I, who have seen, several times, a very similar bird, with a YELLOW beak smaller than the black, sometimes even pale gray, Indigo Bunting's, will NOT EVER be talked into believing I just saw an Indigo Bunting.  I know what an Indigo Bunting is, I see them all the time.  The bird I am trying to identify is NOT an Indigo Bunting, I belive others in this thread have seen the same bird I am trying to identify.  It will be back as it has during the typical time for us to see migratory birds in Minnesota.  Believe me I will do everything in my power to get a photo of it and I will post it here.  But even if I fail to do so, it is by no means proof that a mysterious yellow-beaked bird does not exist in North America.  Rest assured there is a bird in North America that is small like a finch, more blue than an Indigo Bunting and has a small yellow beak, the best example of which is the Brazilian Yellow-Billed Blue Finch.  

-Brian

 

I too have seen a similar bird.  We live in Maine.  My husband or I have never seen this type of bird before.  It is small and I would guess looking at the pics I see of the Indigo Bunting that it is that type of bird.  However, the bird we have been seeing is a dark Blue that looks Royal in certain lights, all over it's body.  It appears to have Black on the tips of its wings and some on its face and head.  It also has a Yellow beak.  It is a beautiful bird.  I would say that it is not a Blue Grosebeak because it is not large enough.  It is definitely a percher.  Would love to know what it is.  I have seen the picture of the Yellow billed Blue Finch and our bird looks exactly like that, maybe a little darker.  The bill is yellow.  I do understand however that according to what I've read the bird does not exist in our country.  I really don't know what it could be because it doesn't look like the picture I've seen posted of the Indigo Bunting.

 

Dalang, your bird sounds like a Indigo Bunting for sure.

 I hate to add yet another post to this 70 post topic, but we REALLY need to put this topic to rest. If your bird is like the Indigo Bunting, please make sure that there is something totally different before posting. If you think your bird is NOT an Indigo Bunting, please make a new topic, it will get a lot more attention in a new topic than here. This topic has been going on for so long that I think a lot of our regular WhatBird Posters (including myself) have started ignoring this topic. So please just make a new topic instead of adding more posts to this topic.

 

 

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featherbrain

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I live in southwestern Indiana and I, too have seen this mystery bird.  The bill is most definitely bright yellow (as another poster mentioned - like the Best Buy sign).  The bird is VERY small - no larger than three inches tall ( from feet to the top of it's head sitting on a feeder).  The bill is very short and from the side, the feathers on the wings and the tail feathers almost looked iridescent.