[birding] ID help, please.

[sampan at aol.com]

Listers - 

I'm hoping someone can help me pin down the ID of a bird I saw today at Finley:? 

Approximate size & posture of?a horned lark, but "rounder" in shape.? Brownish tones overall.?? Pale, clear, breast with a dark band of speckly streaks (or streaky speckles)?high across the breast.? It gave the impression of a shawl pulled across the shoulders and held together at the front.? Face was plain, eye was dark,?no eye ring.? No strong face pattern.? Beak was short and mostly dark - although it may have been yellowish at the tip or on the bottom.

Back was a scaly patterned brown, wings were less patterned and had 2 pale wing bars.? Perhaps a more golden-y brown patch just at the shoulder. Legs and tail were "dark" but I did not see them distinctly.

No vocalization.

I was watching a horned lark in the field on the south side of Bruce road and this bird flew in.? My first impression was that it was another lark, but clearly not once I focused on it.? The bird struck me as being slightly larger than the lark - but that could be?because it was closer in, or because it was a rounder bird.? It wasn't smaller.? ?It foraged in the higher scrubby plants?without covering a lot of ground?in the field for?a short time - most of the looks I had were the bird looking at me face-on.? It then flew off towards the gully that flows from the road, and I lost it.??Time was @11:00.? 

I?got such clear looks I figured I would find it amongst the peeps without a problem - but I'm not finding it in my field guides.? If anyone can help steer me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it.

Sandy P.
North Albany
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