Female Western Tanager?

I have a Mystery Bird! During my trip to Mt. Auburn Cemetery on Sunday I got just a few pictures of what looked like a finch with a pale yellow body. Another distinct characteristic is the white wing bars.

Any thoughts? I can't find any pictures of female tanagers with pale enough bodies. I also considered it might be a female oriole?

I've spent long enough poring through my field guides and doing image searches online. I give up- I'm ready for someone to set me straight!

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UPDATE: I've received two tips that this is likely a female or juvenile Great-crested Flycatcher. Initially I didn't think it was a good fit since the bird seemed larger overall (including the head) and was more sparrow-shaped, but after doing some image searches I think it is in fact a Great-crested Flycatcher.

Comments

Christopher said…

I think what you have there is a female or immature Great-crested Flycatcher. Hard to tell anything about the head with it turned that way, but the white smudgy bars on the wings with the tinge of reddish in the primaries (and maybe a hint on the tail too in the second photo?) as well as the yellow underneath, and dark neck, all speak to a myiarchus flycather to me, and the most common one would be Great-crested. (Although we can't really rule out Ash-throated...)

July 2, 2008 at 8:02:00 AM PDT

Birdinggirl said…

Thanks for the tip Christopher. I actually got the same suggestion from another birder, so you're probably on to something. Thanks for stopping by!

July 22, 2008 at 6:59:00 AM PDT

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