Soaking Wet Bird

Unlike other birds, he sat and sat in the rain. Other birds came and went, snatching some seeds and flying off into the trees. Despite the fact that there is no bubble over this birdfeeder, the bird sat even though he was soaking wet.

He was hard to identify because he was so wet. We have only a few red birds in Western North Carolina, so we thought he must be a Scarlet Tanager. That is not a common bird around here, but not unheard of. (Please advise if you think it's something else.)
LATE ENTRY: Science Guy, Lynne, and Robin have identified this as a Red Crossbill! I hadn't even considered that since we are SO far out of its range. Wow! Thanks, blogger buddies.






I thought this photograph showed him cracking a seed. Looking at other pictures, I'm not so sure.

The bird returned after it stopped raining. He was finally dry but still spending a very long time at the feeder. I feared he might be sick, but he appeared to be eating and not simply hanging around.

Finally, I saw the problem. Look at his crossed bill. The bird apparently was having great difficulty eating because of his bill abnormality.

I think all of us have a soft spot in our hearts for birds with any imperfections that might interfere with their lives. We put out some already cracked sunflower seeds for him. I think he will be all right, since he looks otherwise very healthy and I suspect he was born with this deformity. I hope he makes it.

Late entry: I don't think he will have any trouble at all, now that I know he is really a Red Crossbill. What a pleasant surprise!