Expert: Julia Booth - 4/28/2009

Question
Dark blue bird with crest - about size of Cardinal - has large lite seed eating beak - upper beak has dark mark.  Brown wings, no wing bars.  Dark eyes and legs.  Bird is completely dark blue except for wings.  Bird was in my back yard - near Palm Springs, CA - low desert

Answer
The Phainopepla is black, appearing glossy blue when reflected by sunlight. I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise. I covered all my colors back in kindergarten.

I'm usually polite about these things, because I realize that people who don't bird, don't always know how to describe what they're seeing in birding terms and often don't gauge size or field marks correctly. But your response was rude and unnecessary.

There are only two birds with crests close to the size of a cardinal (and that's pushing it), that could be considered blue, and none in north America that fit your "exact" description. So either the bird wasn't blue, it was much smaller than you thought, it was much bigger than you thought, or it didn't have a crest. Your inability to describe what you saw in correct, birding terms does NOT equate to a lack of knowledge on my part.

Good day sir,

Julia

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There are only two dark blue birds with crests, The Steller's Jay and the Phainopepla. Only the Phainopepla is found where you live.

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steller%27s_Jay

Hope this helps,

Julia