I am not even a casual birder, but I do put food out for the little guys, and there is an unfamiliar bird at my feeder that has me stumped. I have looked at all 930 birds in the Smithsonian Birds of North America...TWICE. My bird is not there. She is about the size of a robin. I have a picture of her backside, but don't know how to get it off my new digital camera, and I don't know if it's any good anyway, so here is a description.
She has a whitish, elogated straight beak that runs straight out from her head without a noticable break. The very top of her head is black, but there is a clearly distinguished gold/orange band that curves in a unbroken sweep above her beak and back above her eyes on either side. Her body looks predominately brownish black at first glance, but closer inspection reveals a yellowish green tinge on her back and breast. The coloring on her wings is what first caught my eye. The tips are black, but there is a single large elongated clearly defined white patch on each wing.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. Oh, almost forgot....I live at 7500' in the mountains of northern New Mexico, about 20 miles south of the Colorado border.
Thanks again, coyotekathy.
