Bird ID help?
I need help identifying a bird that's been coming to our feeder infrequently in the past couple of days. It's extremely skittish, so I haven't been able to snap a better picture than this. IT WATCHES ME! This is the first time I've seen it with a mate:
Since it's such a crappy picture, here are some more observations:
Black bib
red "V" cap but at the nape of its neck
dark spots on light chest
light spots dove/gray wings and back
overall dove-dark gray with light belly, bit of yellow near the underside of the tail
1/3 again as big as a starling
likes peanut suet
I haven't been able to identify this by common visual guides here in the Kansas City area. Maybe these are the birds' winter colors? Both birds that have visited look similar. I haven't heard its call yet. We live in a lightly wooded area bordering open fields. There are lakes nearby and the weather has been around freezing almost all season in this area with snow on the ground for most of the Winter.
Please direct this to anyone who might be of assistance.
EDIT: Mystery solved! Thanks for all the help. It's a flicker! How have I never seen these things around?
Since it's such a crappy picture, here are some more observations:
Black bib
red "V" cap but at the nape of its neck
dark spots on light chest
light spots dove/gray wings and back
overall dove-dark gray with light belly, bit of yellow near the underside of the tail
1/3 again as big as a starling
likes peanut suet
I haven't been able to identify this by common visual guides here in the Kansas City area. Maybe these are the birds' winter colors? Both birds that have visited look similar. I haven't heard its call yet. We live in a lightly wooded area bordering open fields. There are lakes nearby and the weather has been around freezing almost all season in this area with snow on the ground for most of the Winter.
Please direct this to anyone who might be of assistance.
EDIT: Mystery solved! Thanks for all the help. It's a flicker! How have I never seen these things around?