“Wonder Boy”
A few weeks back I posted some pictures of birds feeding under heavy rain. Among those are some of a Northern Mockingbird that looked kind of strange because his feathers did not coincide with the well known appearance of the Mockingbird, although the shape as many other characteristics indicated that he was of that particular species.
Well, the mystery is solved. This bird is a Northern Mockingbird, no doubt.
Courtesy of SoxyLady on Flickr
I see him almost daily, not wet of course! I’ve named him “Wonder Boy” (Remember the Robert Redford’s movie “The Natural”?
This bird has a natural white lightning bolt marking on his black wings!
As you can see this bird looks different because of the heavy rain that has soaked his feathers which are not folded in place as it should as when dry.
Apparently he was still young and had his feathers still not at their normal color. Next you can see what he looks like now, with more age and his feather dry and folded correctly. However, I should mention that he’s large and his wings are much darker that other Mockingbirds. And of course the “lightning bolt” makes him unique! That’s “Wonder Boy”
Text and photographs © H.J. Ruiz – Avian 101
H.J. Ruiz - Avian101 
I so love your Mockingbird and envy you! Although one of those “perks” of climate change mean these guys are moving farther north, I still have no hope that I’ll ever see one in my backyard. 🙂
Mockingbirds have been in my backyard since I had my house built there in 2006 I’m used to see them daily! I’ll ask them to visit Chicago and look for you! 🙂
Great detective work, HJ, on mystery solved! 🙂 He’s a unique cutie.
Oh yes! It was fun to detect, lead me to learn more about birds! Thanks Donna! 🙂