Shout-out to Birders on My FL

[akirlu]

I saw an unexpected bird this morning. I was walking past the creek on my way to the train, and off at the far end saw what I thought was an unusual duck on the freshly mown verge -- we mostly get mallards in the creek, but there are a few other transients and at least one hybrid -- but slowly realized that the head was too small and the body was the wrong shape. I got as close as I could given that I don't give myself a lot of extra time to get to the train and she (?) wasn't at all thrilled with me walking toward her. I didn't have time to dig out the camera alas, so all I can do is description.

So, what I saw was a dark bodied bird, shaped like something somewhere between a wild turkey hen and some sort of grouse -- small head, neck seemed a bit short for a wild turkey. The feathers of the body and wings were quite dark but speckled with tiny polka-dots of white. The breast had a stripe of white running up it too, and around the eye was white -- though the white around the eye seemed to be bare skin rather than feathers -- and there were very short red wattles running just under each side of the bottom of the beak. I can't spot any grouse or other wild fowl that look right in the Northwest guides online, and I would guess it was a wild turkey except that the feathers seemed softer and fluffier than that and that speckled white on dark pattern seems totally wrong. Anybody have any guesses?

Comments

[threeringedmoon.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guineafowl

[replyhazy.livejournal.com]

Definitely. People keep 'em and they get out.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Good guess. That's the right idea for sure, and a good first approximation, though none of the subspecies listed look quite right. No bony crest, speckling far less dense, but otherwise, yes, similar. I suppose there can be hybridization going on there too.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Yes, I did wonder if it might not be some imported exotic that had escaped. The neighborhood used to have someone who kept pigeons. (I never found out who, and I haven't seen the flock in a couple of years.) But like I said to Elaine, if it was a guinea fowl, I think it must be somewhat hybridized, because none of the Wikipedia photos is quite right.;

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Yes, after tootling around on Google image search a bit, I think you must be right -- I've found pictures of some that look very similar. I've also discovered that some people sell whole frozen dead ones as snake food...

[kate-schaefer.livejournal.com]

You've already looked at a picture of a juvenile wild turkey?

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

I hadn't, but the chin wattles made it seem unlikely, also the color. Having looked at some now, while there are similarities, I'd say a juvenile guinea fowl seems likelier.;