need help with Id

[Jill Armentrout]

Sitting in my living room in NE Des Moines and this bird kept hollering out front, I found a male Goldfinch and this guy I think he is a baby Goldfinch but his coloring isn’t quite what I expected, Can someone help me? Thanks

PS - you can see my Mississippi Kite photo bombed the pic of the male.

Jill Armentrout

Des Moines, Iowa

[Russell Benedict]

Jill, 

    That looks like an Eastern Bluebird to me, probably a young one but maybe also a female.  I have them hanging out on the power line at my house in Marion County - they drop down onto unsuspecting crickets, moths, etc.  EABLs have a unique profile that helps to ID them.  Back in the day, the early Roger Tory Peterson field guides had silhouettes of birds inside the front and back cover which I found helpful.  I am amazed how often one can ID a bird purely by shape.  Russ from Pella / Knoxville.

Russ Benedict

Professor of Biology

Director of Prairies For Agriculture Project

Department of Biology, Central College

812 University Street | Campus Box 09 | Pella, Iowa 50219

Office:  641-628-5173

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Sent: Monday, September 1, 2025 2:35 PM
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Cc: Jill Armentrout <sammie...@mac.com>
Subject: [ia-bird] need help with Id

 

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