Name: Lady of Southern California
E-mail: Not specified
Chile, please ID the following bird that was in bush or tree:
The bird is probably about the size of a dove or a little larger and seemed a little fluffy, mostly all white-white except for dark tail and wing tips, orange or red beak, black streak from back of beak going down and back of head, bright yellow eye with a splash of yellow color around eyes.
The Check List is great except you still have to know what to look for when looking at the list. I try to find pics.
I understand your dilemma with the checklist. That's why I ended up picking up a Birds of East Africa book at a used bookstore - I wasn't even familiar with many of the bird families from Africa and often didn't know where to start!
Carmen responded that your bird might be a Namaqua Dove. I'm not sure as some of the characteristics you describe don't quite fit. If you have a pic, that would help. When describing a bird, try to include as much detail as possible. Additional information that would help identify your mystery bird above is includes:
Did it have a vertical or horizontal profile? (Think dove posture vs. owl.)
Did it have short legs like a dove or longer legs like the shorebirds (think of the Black-winged Stilt, for instance)?
Did it have a long bill or short bill? Was it thin or thick? If thin, was it curved or straight? Did it have a sharp hook (like an eagle)?
Was the tail short or long? Did it have a square tip, round tip, or was it notched in the middle?
Was the body thin or stocky? (This is often in relation to size of tail...)
What was its behavior?
Was it alone or in a flock of similar birds?
I know you probably won't be able to answer all of these for the above bird, but try to remember what you can. And, keep these things in mind while watching birds. Practice on the ones in your yard, trying to note as much as you can. With practice and with a bird book, you start picking up the gist of a bird. For instance, you said dove-sized, which means you are familiar with the size of doves as opposed to, say, a sparrow. Both Carmen and I probably automatically assumed then that you also meant that it had the posture and look of a dove, but we really don't know that for sure.
I hope this makes sense and is helpful. Please post what you can and we'll try to track down your bird! ![Smile [:)]](/emoticons/emotion-1.gif)
Chile, Carmen:
I saw pic of Manaqua Dove - it was not a Manaqua Dove - Not a Dove at all. So often there is just a brief CAM shot of bird in question and I thought I was really describing as completely as I possible could. In this case legs, and feet were not visible. I can only describe what I see. And, no I was just using the "dove" comparison for size purposes only not even meaning it could have been a dove. It was a lone bird. It's feathers were all fluffy - making it look fat - could have been that it was fluffing it's feathers. The feathers were not smooth and not grey - all feathers that I could see were white-white except for the wing tips and tail. CAM pic was not that clear and did not stay on bird long enough to capture a shot.
Thanks both of you for helping. Everything you have stated makes sense. I do print off all the pictures I can to help ID birds. My bird book of American birds, of course does not help at all. No used book store where I live and Friends of the Library used book store does not have. I'll go by the Library and take a look at the Birds of East Africa. If they do not have it on the shelves they will look on their computers and if it is listed they will send down to the central county library and request it for me so I can check it out.