Hi All,

 

Yesterday I did a double take when I saw three pigeons on a wire on
Research Rd. at Beltsville Ag Res. Center (BARC).  One of them was very
pale; at first I thought it was just a rock dove variant but as I got
closer, this bird had a long tail and a crest.  After doubling back I
got a better look at it and it looked almost identical to a grey
cockatiel, which is a common pet (and common escapee?) but it was about
the size of the pigeons.  Details: overall light grey body, large white
wing patch, yellow head with crest (no distinct orange facial patch),
parrot beak, lighter tail than the web shows for the "normal" grey
cockatiel and much larger than all the cockatiels I could find on the
web.

 

Any thoughts as to the species?  Is it just a grey cockatiel on
hormones?  

 

Michel

 

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Michel A. Cavigelli

Research Soil Scientist

Sustainable Agricultural Systems Lab

Animal and Natural Resources Institute

Bldg 001, Rm 140

BARC-West

10300 Baltimore Ave.

Beltsville, MD 20705

 

301-504-8327 office

240-304-9480 cell

301-504-8370 fax

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