I'm trying to identify a bird on my porch...

[bicentennial_baby]

They come to the suet feeders several times a day. Probably about 6-7 inches from the end of the tail to the tip of the beak. Long-ish slender beak, brown all over except for a speckled breast. In Eastern MA.

Any ideas? :)

[mikeytherat]

1. My 3 Guesses: Wood Thrush, Song Sparrow, House Wren

mikey_the_rat

[bicentennial_baby]

2. Not those, but I did find a pic of what they look like:

This is a European Starling, supposedly, but I looked at other pics of them, and they don't look like that, only like this pic. Hmmm

[Gormy Cuss]

3. How is it different from that starling photo?

Is the body shaped in a similar way, or is it squatter? Does the bird hold its tail down, or is it flipped up? How many of them show up at once?

(as an aside, after you said no to mikey-the-rat's guesses I thought of a starling before I opened the post.)

[bicentennial_baby]

4. No, I mean it looks just like the pic I posted,

but not like other pics of European Starlings. They normally come in groups of 2-12, depending. Tail down. :)

[Gormy Cuss]

5. Then it sounds like you have starlings although I've never seen one with that coloring.

Pale brown, but not golden. Starlings are lighter colored in the spring and darker in the fall and winter and they are city birds and love to travel in packs.

A wren or thrush would have been my guess if the bodies were thicker.

on edit: starlings have a high degree of iridescence in their plumage. That sometimes makes them appear lighter than they actually are.

[Maestro]

6. If this pic looks like your bird

I bet it is a juvenile starling. They only get the black/green/purple iridescence look as an adult.

[bicentennial_baby]

7. Ah ha!

Thank you! :hi:

[China_cat]

8. Brown thrasher, most likely