Brooklyn has gone avian rarities this winter. A Varied Thrush, a bird of the northwest into Alaska, has been hanging out in Prospect Park. A female Painted Bunting has been enjoying the amenities at Brooklyn Bridge Park, which is also hosting a Black-headed Gull amid the thousands of Ring-billed Gulls who roost there.
And, something I actually have a picture of, a Harlequin Duck has been bobbing and diving in Sheepshead Bay.
A little bigger than the Buffleheads he’s been hanging out with. Histrionicus histrionicus generally like the rocky coastlines and strong waves found further north. The placid bay here, bulkheaded on three sides, is definitely not typical habitat.
Histrionicus, you say? Histrio, actor, dressed for the part. Histrionic, as in breeding plumage. Harlequinesque.
Meanwhile, what happened to the Black-capped Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches?
Backyard and Beyond 
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