I live in Malta, NY, i mile west of I-87 exit 11. I have a wooded back yard where I have several bird feeders set up. I first saw this bird on one of my feeders with a bird seed mix. What I noticed was that it was brown (darkish) with a black patch on its chest and was about the size of a Bluejay.
Today it came back at about 4 PM and landed on the trunk of a large Maple tree. It moved around the tree like a woodpecker then landed on the ground. It proceeded to peck at the ground (woodpecker fashion) feeding on something. I assumed it was grubs. It was digging deep enough so that its head nearly disappeared into the holes.I have a nearby ant hill which would have been easy pickings. This time I could see the red markings on its neck. There were no red markings on its throat. Its back and underside were solid colored as near as I could see. It flue off but I didn't see any white or other color.
When I inspected the holes it dug, they were about 1-1/4 inch in diameter and depth.
