id help please

[ronbco]

Pueblo Nature Center, along the Arkansas river, along the trail east of the Nature center....

there is a hillside of 50 ft of crumbling limestone with a rock wall running along the top (old road or something)

sage/scrub in general, but cottonwoods of course along the river

first spotted the bird on the hillside then it moved to the rock wall and moved along it a few times

got a good look...but apparently not good enough for an id

 

I think it was either a rock wren or sage thrasher.

Plumage looked worn dirty white with faint buff streaks on throat, otherwise grey on wings & back, no yellow or brown.

I thought I detected some white above the eye.

Bill was fairly thin and a bit long.

Build was quite slender

It stopped on the wall, tilt head up like a meadowlark, and let out a brief call of perhaps just a couple notes.

I did not notice any tail wagging like I would expect with a wren.

 

Given location, habitat and behavior what is more likely?

One would be a lifer, the other not.

What do you think?

 

Tx

Ron Bolton

Berthoud

 

[kickback]

Ron,

 

sounds like a rock wren to me. Send me your email address and I'll send you good pictures of both birds.

 

Bill

 

bill_ ko...@msn.com