Expert: Julia Booth - 7/7/2010

Question
I live in Nashville, Tn. Today, I saw a bird that I could not identify, even using my Audubon Society field guide. The bird was a little larger than a cardinal(at first I thought it was a cardinal). It had a yellow/red beak, no crown like a cardinal, the head was black and the body red. It did not stay around long enough to get a better look. Any clues??

Answer
Sounds like a crimson collared grosbeak. The species is currently "threatened" and listed as "accidental" for the state of TN. Meaning that if they end up there, it would be by accident. They strayed from their normal migration route or didn't find sufficient food supply or what have you. It would probably not be included in your field guide.

Here are some images:

http://www.fronteraaudubon.org/Photos/Birds/ThumbnailsBirds/thumbnails/Crimson-c...

http://www.ccp14.ac.uk/ccp/web-mirrors/commercial/bafrenz/birds/CCGrX10B.JPG

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_oDA9bhfeddQ/Sjcmv8qss1I/AAAAAAAAAWo/ymLpGqzGl3s/s400/C...

There is also a crimson-collared tanager. But I don't think it has ever been spotted in TN.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimson-collared_Tanager

If this is not the bird you saw, let me know and we will continue our search,

Julia