bird i.d. sought: warning, pics of dead bird

[badger]

I went to work this morning and found this poor thing dead As I've never seen a bird like it before, does someone here know what kind of bird it is? I did a very rough search and it looks a bit like a thrasher or a thrush, but I really don't know birds. It's about the size of a robin and was found in Vancouver, B.C.

[Thorn]

?Yellow flicker?

I can't tell if you have enough of the tell tale markers.

Obviously, you can't go by behavior...hopping in the grass not climbing a tree.

[badger]

yeah, I won't be able to tell you behaviour or song or anything like that. As I've mentioned, I've never seen one like it before.

[azfiddle]

I think it's a rail- a type of marsh bird. I'll double check the id and post again. Cool.... they are very secretive.

[azfiddle]

Yes, immature Sora Rail. These are very secretive marsh birds - notice the lobed feet for walking around where it's wet and muddy.

[Zen]

What a shame.
Is your ride near a marsh?
It might have gotten clipped by a car.

[Zen]

Even curiouser, you picked up this bird on your way to work and kept it where all day?

[channlluv]

Not to scare you, but here in San Diego we've been warned not to touch dead birds that show up randomly in our yards and such because of the threat of West Nile Virus. We're supposed to call Animal Control, who will come and pick up the dead bird and run the necessary tests. I would be especially careful since this looks like an otherwise young, healthy bird.

Roxy

[badger]

it was found dead outside a warehouse I'm seconded to this week. I think it may have flown into a concrete wall.

I emailed our local wildlife rescue; I initially didn't want to throw it out in the garbage as my coworker told me to do, and when I realized it's a bird I'd never seen before, I wondered if it should be reported to a rare bird sighting place.

Anyways, I emailed the pics and she wrote back saying it looked to be a Yellow Rail (you're pretty close, azfiddle!), a common visitor in our parts during fall migration. I wouldn't say the warehouse is right by a marsh, though it's not too far from estuaries and a couple of bogs.

And zen, to answer the question of where it's been all day, well... in the fridge. And don't worry, Roxy, I packed him/her up with gloves (2 pairs, actually!) in a plastic bag inside a paper bag inside a cardboard box. Looks like I'll be taking him/her somewhere tomorrow to bury. Can't dignify throwing him out in the garbage

[badger]

I'm glad that I'm not as unobservant as I felt, not having seen this kind of bird before. I'm sad that they're actually classified as "species at risk" in Canada due to habitat loss http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Rail

[Zen]

I think it may have flown into a concrete wall.

I don't think birds do that
Glass windows, yes.

Poor bird.

[badger]

I don't think birds do that
Glass windows, yes.

Poor bird.

I know, I was puzzled as well, but there's really no other logical reason why that bird ended up where it did. It does have some blood around its beak (and the tongue was out). The building is mostly concrete, but does have some windows up high. I'm not sure if the building has lights on at night, maybe it was somehow disoriented and flew into the window and ended up like that?

[azfiddle]

Guess I was too hasty. I thought of Yellow Rail, but didn't find a picture quick enough. All my field guides were at home. I'm getting rusty with my bird id lately, and have never seen a Yellow Rail.

We kept many a dead bird in plastic bags in the freezer when I was an ornithology graduate student.

[azfiddle]

Is there a local museum (university or natural history museum) where you could donate the bird? They might really appreciate it for their collection.