Unidentified Bird

Saw a species of bird that’s new to me as I did yard work: between a bluejay and a cardinal in size, this bird has a streamlined gray body with a cream breast and a pronounced black mask or head. It’s apparently a bug-eater with a unique flight pattern; the bird perches on our rooftop, swoops down in a parabolic loop to snap up something within inches of the lawn surface. At times it seemed to hover at the limit of it’s arc before returning to a spot only a few feet away from it’s launch point. Fascinating to watch.

I broke out my bird books and studied but I could not identify it.