similar to a blue jay .. what kind of bird is this?

Question

Lately there have been strange birds near my house that i've never seen before. they look like a blue jay, similar in size and "feather arrangement" i suppose. however they're black/gray in color with two stripes of white on their tails and a white stripe in the middle of their wings which only seems visible when they fly. i'm just curious as to their name

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Hi,

What state or geographical region do you live.  There are some birds that are similar to what you describe, but it depends on where you are.  It is summer breeding for many as well.

You say 'lately' so I am thinking that these may be migratory birds.  Can you please update your question with a little more detail.  Location (as close to what you feel comfortable telling us), landscape (mountain, field, water).

I see a previous answer suggested whatbird.com for a solution.  I agree, this will help you.

I am thinking Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, but this is smaller than the Jay.  It could be a Belted King-fisher as it is also a medium sized bird like the Jay, with that silly tufted crown, but you would have noticed a white collar around it's neck and I didn't see that in your description.

UPDATE: GREAT.  Thanks.  To be sure, here are the two birds to compare.  Hope this helps.  There is also the Tufted Titmouse as well.  Similar head shape it is in our area year round.  If you ever find out what it is, please let me know.  I am curious now.  Best of luck.  PS:  It is not a Heron, that bird is way larger than a Blue Jay (it's more like a Crane or Stork.  It's ginormous   d;^]      )  The Gnatcather is smaller though.

UPDATE 2:  Yes Strix is right.  Great Pix Mate.  The bottom is the best and really matched Vintagex's details.  Vintage, great update on the bird description.

nixity · Answer

I love how you say it's similar in size to a Blue Jay and someone suggests a Heron.
Bah..
Probably not a shrike if you said the white is mostly visible in flight:

http://www.birdsofoklahoma.net/LoggerheadShrike.jpg

Here's a blue-gray gnatcatcher which has the white tail striping but is much smaller than a Blue Jay:

http://www.hiltonpond.org/images/GnatcatcherBlueGrayM01.jpg

Mockingbird: 

http://www.fws.gov/northdakotafieldoffice/images/Northern%20mockingbird.jpg

Then there's the possibility of a Magpie though I'm not sure how much they're in the Northeastern US:

http://www.suan-yong.com/utah/s3542-magpie-flight.jpg

Strix · Answer

It's a Northern Mockingbird.

http://www.jrcompton.com/photos/The_Birds/mockingbird/Mockingbirds.html

searching_please · Answer

Could be mockingbirds. Not sure. Try to ID it at:

http://identify.whatbird.com/mwg/_/0/attrs.aspx

Good luck! :)

$Sun King$ · Answer

That's most definitely a skunk.

Anonymous · Answer

blue heron? it may be spelled wrong but I have them at my house, they are also a little bit lighter shade of blue

Anonymous · Answer

it's the blue bird of happiness

g g · Answer

northern shrike?

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/BOW/NORSHR/

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fei%3DUTF-8%26p%3Dnorthern%2520shrike%26fr2%3Dtab-web%26fr%3Dslv8-msgr&w=600&h=434&imgurl=www.paulnoll.com%2FOregon%2FBirds%2FLikely%2Flikely-Shrike-Northern.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.paulnoll.com%2FOregon%2FBirds%2FLikely%2Flikely-Shrike-Northern.html&size=35.6kB&name=likely-Shrike-Northern.jpg&p=northern+shrike&type=jpeg&no=9&tt=862&oid=16d2a0b2318164f8&ei=UTF-8


what state do you live in?

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similar to a blue jay .. what kind of bird is this?

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