Sharpie

Day 346: Got a Sharpie? I do. Accipter striatus (Sharp-shinned Hawk) flew in to see what was for breakfast, and since he didn't feel like tackling a Steller's Jay, he went away disappointed. Sharpies are not always easy to distinguish from Cooper's, but this guy's distinctive streaking continued far down his breast and clinched the identification. Side by side, you might have noticed that Cooper's has a larger head and a longer tail, factors which are difficult to judge when only one specimen is present. Overall, Sharpies are smaller, and might well come off on the losing end of the contest with a Steller's Jay. The smaller birds seemed to know he was around, and stayed in the protection of the contorted filbert's tangle of branches. Even when bare of leaves, the tree's natural maze proves too tight for a Sharpie to penetrate.