Posted by Phil Pickering (208.46.229.124) on October 22, 2000 at 13:22:13:
I'm starting to feel somewhat confident that this is indeed a House Wren (for whatever that's worth!) I apparently have been lazy and haven't looked closely at enough of them to recognize one.
After yet another look at this silly thing I noticed that the coloration of the entire scan is balanced somewhat towards cyan (at least on my monitor). I think the true-to-life coloration of this bird is probably quite a bit warmer than what I'm seeing. Taking this into account, the colors of the upper & underparts may well be within the typical range of House Wren.
Giving it some thought, structurally the bird is perfect for House Wren. The tail is the right length (and I think they can probably change the shape from squared to rounded or pointy just by shifting or stacking the outer retrices), there isn't much neck, the crown is a bit rounded, the body is plump and roundish, the legs are the exact right length, and the feet are proportionately the right size. Taking foreshortening into account, I also think the bill length is well within range.
Through looking at a few photos I've also learned that House Wrens can sometimes show the combination of a pale eye-ring that widens at the bottom, and a pale supercilium that becomes indistinct behind the eye - exactly like this bird!
Looking reeeel close, there does appear to be some warmer coloration on the flanks - and it also looks like there might be a hint of barring on the flanks(!) that I had missed despite over a dozen close looks at this scan. And... it also looks like there could be some darker streaking visible on the forecrown, although it's hard to be sure. And, of course, the small visible section of the wing still looks barred to me.
One problem might be the apparent dark leg color, but I don't know how variable this is in adults or juveniles.
Whether I'm on the right track yet or not, this has been (for me, anyway) a most instructive mystery bird. Thanks, Joe!
Phil