Can someone identify this bird

[mart]

I believe it is also an "artistic" bird.

Mart, we used to have roadrunners everywhere.  Now that all is built up around us we only see them occasionally. They would come over the top of our 7' fence like it was nothing.  They sure help with the mouse population!

I would have loved to have watched the nest!  Did they hatch successfully?

Beep Beep!!!

No they didn`t hatch !!  Was no male around so we assumed they were not fertile !! And we think Pedro was an old bird so that may have played a part too !! She built her nest on my bedroom window sill and it was interesting watching her place the sticks and twigs !! At one point it was a little big and started to sag so I slid a flat metal grate under it and into the window edge then closed the window to support it !! She was a happy bird !!
You really should have seen peoples faces when I called Pedro and here comes a roadrunner around the corner of the house !!   Odd thing was she was never particularly leary of people or at least not us or the dogs !!
I guess after I tossed her that first mouse she decided this was a pretty nice retirement home !! I just found her sitting in the back of the garage dead one day.  She was here about a year and a half !!

[capot1948]

It does look like a mixture of several birds. The picture below was taken in our front yard the middle of last month. It's only about 25ft from where my wife stood on the porch to where they were standing. The whole town has deer running around most all the time ever since builders started destroying their habitat to build new houses they come into town looking for food and water. This is just about an every night scene and don't believe when they say a plant is 'deer proof' there is no such thing.

[mart]

My horses keep extra wildlife out of the pasture except coyotes,,dogs keep them out of the yard !! We don`t have the pit bulls anymore,,Ditto got hit by a car and Eve had cancer !!  Now we have hunting type dogs !! A lab and a lab cross and a Scottish deerhound !!

[wendy177]

Love it deer, roadrunners, coyotes! We have coyotes, deer and lately a lot of bears running around on main roads & in yards, back decks & such. We have a much loved  coonhound  Franklin Theodore that keeps watch on us and our yard    As far as the bird it kind of resembles a blue heron.

[capot1948]

Hmm, that could be. I'll have to find a picture and compare them.

[sapphire]

I was thinking heron too, but have yet to find a picture of one with that elongated tail.

[mart]

Herons nor egrets have long tails !!  Legs are not long enough for those and again,, wrong habitat !!

[sapphire]

If it weren't for the longer beak it does resembles the Chinese mythical Fenghuang or Phoenix.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenghuang

[mart]

Well, its closer to that one  than any North American bird I can think of !!

[capot1948]

True, I've gone and posted a photo to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to see if we can get any answers. Did get one to call an antique dealer in New York, More and More Antiques except they only have a phone number, no email so I can't send a photo.

[capot1948]

Sapphire, Mart, just looked at some photos of a Phoenix, that does seem to fit the profile and might go along with the theme of this set.

[Ipcress]

Why are you spending so much time trying to identify the bird ?

[bigwull]

for that Ip, you get a cookie.....

[capot1948]

I'm curious as to what it is on this set. I'll just let it go then and end the thread.

[Ipcress]

I'm curious as to what it is on this set. I'll just let it go then and end the thread.

Point being that it could be copying the Oriental style with peony and fenghuang. It could be sticks, berries and a woodpecker. More likely you'll never know and it doesn't really affect the value or history of the item

Wasn't being rude !