An Orange or Red Bishop in Prospect Park. I don’t know if it’s a Southern (Euplectes orix) or a Northern (E. franciscanus)*. This is an escaped — or idiot-released — exotic, a victim of the pernicious avian pet trade. Native to Africa, there are now a few small breeding populations in TX and CA.
The ring on the leg evidently indicates that this is supposedly a legitimately trafficked animal, but only because the laws have not caught up to the morality yet. The bird is obviously finding something to eat and isn’t shy. Once it looses its breeding plumage, it will look remarkably like a Grasshopper Sparrow.
*Update: Probably a Northern according to a comment on ebirdsnyc citing Birds of East Africa.
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