A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Butterfly and Bird Gardens Can I get lightning to strike twice?

Today we went "fishing" at the local mud-hole and I saw two of the most beautiful birds. I think one was a great kiskadee--not a real great-big bird, a bright yellow body with a black mask. The other bird I saw I thought was a piece of trash. It was about the same color as a blue on a pepsi bottle--bright and shiny. Very small. About the size of a large hummingbird. (Well, DH says it was 4-6 inches big and I say 3-4 inches.) When it flew off (I was clamoring to get my camera) it didn't have a very large wingspan. But I couldn't see the wings either (they were going very fast). Now I've combed through several lists of hummers in the area, and really can't find any that fit a solid blue-backed hummer. Any ideas, suggestions?

So can lightning strike twice? Can you identify this based on my description?

Thank-you!

Great kiskadee 9 3/4" long 15" wingspan. Sound like it? Their range isnt usually in your state. Or even close.
Whole body yellow or just the underside? Small? big? Compared to say a cardinal?
it could have been a couple different warblers or an oriole too.

You sure it was a hummingbird?
I dont know of any hummers that bright all over. Indigo buntings are small and bright blue, cerulean and black throated blue warblers look blue but not quite what i'd call pepsi can.

The possible great kiskadee was larger than a cardinal. About the color of your gremlins at the campfire, Wrennie. I know that it's belly and underside of the wings were yellow, and it had...kinda like a black mask, I think. It definitely had yellow shoulders though 'cause I saw it up in the tree, and could see the yellow above the wings. It was in a bunch of leaves, so it was hard to see all of it. Most places said that the kiskadee only goes up to Texas but Wikopedia mentioned it as a KS bird. Do you know of any other birds that look relatively similiar to it?

I wasn't sure if the blue bird was a hummer or not. I just don't know any other birds that are so pretty and small. Definitely looks like the indigo bunting. I'll show DH and see if he agrees when he gets back from the store.

Your first bird sounds just like a male Common Yellow-Throated Warbler. The second bird, I am fairly certain is a male Indigo Bunting. I saw one just last Thursday across the road from my house.

But yellowthroats arent bigger than a cardinal.
hmmm