Took a helicopter trip from Las Vegas to a spot in the west rim of the Grand Canyon. This little kiddo was flitting around I managed to get a shot but had to really extend the zoom on my Lumix MFT. Pilot called it a specific type of wren but I forget exactly what he said. Seems to maybe match up with the stripe on the head but like the pattern on the back doesn’t seem to match what I’ve seen of pictures of, say, canyon wrens. He was talking about small birds with some blue, but I’m not exactly getting that from this photo although the harsh mid-day sun isn’t great for bringing out subtle coloration. Maybe the angle and resolution aren’t enough for a positive ID, but I do still rather like the picture.
When was this taken?
You will always remember it as the day you captured black sparrow.
I highly recommend the Merlin bird identification app.
It’s hard to tell from the back other than the very prominent white eyebrow. Several wrens have it, including the cactus wren, but he doesn’t really look like him from the back. I agree with your assessment that it is probably not a canyon wren. To me the closest is Bewick’s but I don’t feel a lot of certainty.
iOS built-in subject recognition says: Black Throated Sparrow. It looks like a possible match, right?
Android built in Google lens ageees, so clearly this must be the correct answer lol
Wouldn’t be surprised if Google’s algorithm is behind Apple Photos recognition, looking at how good Apple is proving to be with AI and similar systems 😁
Whoa, looking at the pictures online I think you might be right. Shorter beak, still with the pronounced head stripe, and the back pattern looks like a match. eBird’s maps say that’s a pretty common area for that species. Thank you!
It is definitely a bird. /s
