Unknown bird

Brutus

Brutus

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
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Location
West of most places....and in Alberta
Late at night when one would expect to see a bat versus a bird, I see a small dark grey bird a little bigger than a humming bird swiftly fly by.
Sometimes stops on the window ledge. Getting the idea it's chasing bugs. Beak about 3/4 inch long. Uniform dark grey body. No larger than a Robin certainly.
 
Need more than that, but some species of flycatcher seems likely. Like many perching birds they are of course migrating right now and lights in windows do confuse their navigation. Maybe yours was picking up a snack in the process but the lit up glass in windows often kills them, in large buildings I mean.
 
Sorry guys, Cold Lake Alberta. Bird was small and lean like a sparrow kind of. No other really apparent differing colors.
And it was about this time last year that I did see it in this locale. No crest visible on its head. Chest color looked the same uniform dark grey as the rest of it.
Black beak? Black legs? Was my brief impression.
However my co worker said he seen a yellow beak??
 
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Brutus said:
Late at night when one would expect to see a bat versus a bird, I see a small dark grey bird a little bigger than a humming bird swiftly fly by.
Sometimes stops on the window ledge. Getting the idea it's chasing bugs. Beak about 3/4 inch long. Uniform dark grey body. No larger than a Robin certainly.
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I think yer gonna have to be satisfied with "Yup, it was a bird!" :)

There are an awful pile of little dark(ish) birds out there, and you pretty much got to get a good look in good light, to be able to get an ID on them.
I packed my camera around for the first couple years I was out here again, and anything that caught my eye and was still enough to get a shot of, would get snapped, so I could check it out in the bird books we have.
 
"late at night" means that it will be next to impossible to see accurate colours and markings for certain.

You mentioned "small dark grey bird a little bigger than a humming bird". If it was indeed that tiny, then I might guess Ruby-crowned Kinglet. In the dark you will not see the male's thin ruby crown, and it is often hidden anyways, and the females don't have the ruby crown.
Info link:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet

Alas, I think we need more data for a confident ID call. :)

One tip for bird ID of silhouettes or quick glances, is to study the bird field guide tips for ID characteristics, and learn to take note of those. With these clues one can sometimes construct a species ID or narrow it down.

Some examples of ID characteristics for little birds: wing bars yes/no, head crest yes/no, tail length relative to body, constant bobbing of tail or no, colour flash pattern on tail (e.g. bright white edges vs solid, white tail tip, etc), beak length and shape relative to head width, (long thin, short conical, hook on upper beak as opposed to pointed with lower, curved as opposed to straight), eye ring yes/no, breast or belly streaked or solid with any prominent marks, light head streak though eye or no, eye colour.

These are some examples but there are several more. Admittedly many of these rely on colour, which means more daylight required. But With some practice these ID characteristics can help narrow down the ID to a family type or even a few species.

My birding skills have lapsed. I need to get out with the field guide and binocs more often. These skills get rusty without practice.
 
Hummingbird to Robin size covers a lot of ground.
My first thought was a common nighthawk, they are a nocturnal bird, insect eater and fast flyer, but your bird sounds too small for that.
A young nighthawk maybe?
 
All migrating birds go grey this time of year. If my understanding that it was after insects at the window is correct, I'll stick with a species of flycatcher, although that behaviour is not something they're know for. There are tons of them around in quite a few varieties but hardly anyone but bird watchers ever notice them, or see them for that matter. They stay up in the trees and mostly out of sight.
 
Big Bad said:
All migrating birds go grey this time of year. If my understanding that it was after insects at the window is correct, I'll stick with a species of flycatcher, although that behaviour is not something they're know for. There are tons of them around in quite a few varieties but hardly anyone but bird watchers ever notice them, or see them for that matter. They stay up in the trees and mostly out of sight.
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You might be into something Big Bad.
The Olive Sided Flycatcher is the closest example for sure. Matter of fact I would put money on this choice.

Thank you gentlemen all of you for your help.
This is the kind of online education that computers are best for!
Cheers
 
Big Bad said:
All migrating birds go grey this time of year. If my understanding that it was after insects at the window is correct, I'll stick with a species of flycatcher, although that behaviour is not something they're know for. There are tons of them around in quite a few varieties but hardly anyone but bird watchers ever notice them, or see them for that matter. They stay up in the trees and mostly out of sight.
Click to expand...

Sometimes at night time walk I approach a substantial tree. If there is no wind sometimes I hear a single peep as if it's announcing itself or protesting my flashlight.
I don't ever see anything fly out. But I don't shine my light in trees anymore because I wish to not stir a bat. Bats can transmit rabies with a mere scratch although the odds of this is very very low.
Your guess of bird night time behaviour resting a high limbs of trees sounds much more credible to me.
 
Brutus said:
Sometimes at night time walk I approach a substantial tree. If there is no wind sometimes I hear a single peep as if it's announcing itself or protesting my flashlight.
I don't ever see anything fly out. But I don't shine my light in trees anymore because I wish to not stir a bat. Bats can transmit rabies with a mere scratch although the odds of this is very very low.
Your guess of bird night time behaviour resting a high limbs of trees sounds much more credible to me.
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It's most definitely migrating birds, or a nesting or resting bird depending on the season. Bats are out hunting at night and if you can hear them, you have fantastic hearing- most people no longer can after the age of 15 or so.
 
Norton said:
Hummingbird to Robin size covers a lot of ground.
My first thought was a common nighthawk, they are a nocturnal bird, insect eater and fast flyer, but your bird sounds too small for that.
A young nighthawk maybe?
Click to expand...

Never seen one sitting still.

We have a lot of them around here. They make a pretty good airshow!
 
This could be the famous Wow-Wow bird. This bird only crap once a year and when it does, it send loudly is Wow-Wow because it cant believe the POS it just made.:):)
 
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