Birds of a Feather : A Retraction

On June 12 and on June 15, I displayed two different bird pictures. Both of these pictures were taken in our backyard grape vine. The picture was taken after Daddy D and the preacher's daughters found the little bird amongst the baby grapes. When I went out to see if the bird was still in the grape vine, the little bird seemed like he was posing. Pleased with my good fortune of capturing a nice bird picture, I went out a few days later to photograph our little bird again and found the bird in the second picture. Since the bird was in the same location and sat still to have his picture taken even though the plumage was different, I naively thought that this might be the same bird with adult plumage. At that point in my mind, both bird pictures were of the same bird and something different than a robin.

Then three people, my lovely sister-in-law, REM, Pamela of Dust Will Wait , and Gawilli of Back in the Day who seem to know birds better than me, questioned my implication that this was the same bird. Originally, I did think that the first picture featured a robin. My error came in thinking the the bird in the second picture was the same as the first. Since these three bird enthusiasts pointed me in the right direction, I consulted with some experts at Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The bird experts confirmed what my friends suspected, that these are two different birds. The first picture is an American Robin, and the second baby is a Common Grackle. Now is that as clear as guano?

I am sorry blogging world for the misinformation about our avian friends. I thank REM, Pamela, and Gawilli for their insight. However, I am somewhat embarrassed by my error. Not only, do I teach science, but my degree is actually in biology. Moreover, I have partially completed a correspondence course in ornithology. Finally, I call my blog, Return of the White Robin. Hopefully, if I ever see a white robin, I will be able to recognize the bird...Sheesh.