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Posted by Brian Rapoza on 15:28:12 03/04/07
About five minutes after arriving at A D Barnes this morning, I began to hear a melodious song coming from somewhere along SW 72 Avenue. I soon found the source of the song; the bird was perched at the top of a Ficus tree near the road. From my vantage point on the median of SW 72 Ave., I was looking almost directly in the sun, but could still make out the sparrow-like bill and yellow on the face and throat. Then the bird flew across the road into the neighborhood west of the park.
Definitely not a bird I'd seen at A D Barnes before. What has a sparrow-like bill and yellow on the face and throat? Yellow-faced Grassquit came to mind. I'd only seen this species twice: January, 2001 at Eco Pond in Everglades National Park, and April, 2004 in Puerto Rico. So a clear mental image of what this bird looked like wasn't coming to me. OK then, lets check the resources at hand. First, my trusty copy of Sibley Eastern. What's this, no grassquits in Sibley Eastern? I never noticed that before. Next, my newly purchased iPod, which came preloaded with Stokes amazing Field Guide to Bird Songs, Eastern and Western. No grassquits there either. Time to use my "phone a friend" option. I called Larry Manfredi and described what I had seen and heard. He gave me a description of a grassquit's facial features, and described its song as "insect-like." What do I know; to me, some insects sound melodious? I told him I would call him back if I refound the bird.
I headed over to the neighborhood west of Barnes and quickly relocated the bird, perched on a wire and singing. I called Larry back, convinced it was a Yellow-faced Grassquit. If only I had mentioned to him that the bird had a streaky belly, he would have shot down my ID in a split-second. But alas, I did not, and Larry, like the wonderful friend that he is, took my word for it that I indeed had found a Yellow-faced Grassquit, and posted it for all the world to see.
As I tried to remember what a Yellow-faced Grassquit really looked like, that streaking began to bother me. As did the song. I knew I had heard it before. And recently! But where?
The bird flew back towards the park. Since I wasn't sure if Larry was coming to see the bird, I decided to call Paul Bithorn. I asked him about the streaking; his field guides didn't describe any streaking on Yellow-faced Grassquit. Though Paul said he would be right there to take a look, my heart began to sink and my head began to spin. WHERE DID I HEAR THAT SONG??? AND JUST RECENTLY!!!!!
Wait a minute . . . now it's coming to me. Two weeks ago. At the Circle K in Tallahassee, gassing up as Paul and I headed out in search of Horned Larks and Western Meadowlarks. (The Horned Larks, Paul and I would rather not talk about, but that's another story.)
It hit me like a bolt of lightning from the sky. HOUSE FINCH!!!! How incredibly silly of me to not realize it sooner (or better yet, immediately!) Checking Sibley again, my epiphany was confirmed; yellow variant House Finch. And I had just seen this variant a few months ago, at the feeders at Green Cay Wetlands in Palm Beach County!
The silver lining: House Finch was my 300th bird seen in Miami-Dade County. Paul soon arrived to add House Finch to his county list. John Boyd followed, unaware of my ID faux pas, but pleased nonetheless to be able to add a new bird to his county list. If you go for this bird, it moves around a lot. Just listen for the melodious song. It sounds like a House Finch.
Lots of other birds were at Barnes this morning, including a Nashville Warbler, which I saw even before hearing the House Finch, but which Paul, John and I couldn't relocate. Also seen were Hermit Thrush (yes, Alex, they are still there), Summer Tanager, Painted Bunting, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Tufted Titmouse, Cedar Waxwing, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Blue-headed Vireo, Eastern Phoebe and ten other species of warblers (Orange crowned, Northern Parula, Black-throated Blue, Yellow-rumped, Pine, Prairie, Palm, Black-and-white, American Redstart and Common Yellowthroat).
On my way home, I stopped at Barnes and Noble to purchase the 5th edition of the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Included in this beautiful field guide (as well as in previuos editions) are illustrations of Yellow-faced Grassquit, which, as anyone can clearly see, look nothing like a yellow-variant House Finch.
My deepest apologies to anyone currently on a plane, coming to see a Yellow-faced Grassquit.
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