PIMA — The first American sighting of a blue-black Grassquit bird has taken place in Graham County.
“It was discovered on July 15 by Levi Plummer, who’s a birder from Glendale that travels all over trying to get pictures of rarities,” said local birding expert Diane Drobka. “He was out at Cluff Ranch and he just happened upon this bird. And it was a male so it really caught his eye. It’s black with sort of a blue iridescence to it.”
The bird is typically found in southern Mexico, Central America and northern South America. It’s previously furthest northern spotting was in the mountains east of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.
The result has been a number of birders descending on the Gila Valley, with more than 70 from across North America visiting the area since the record of the sighting was posted to eBird.
The American Birding Association will confirm the bird’s presence via photos, and latitude and longitude automatically recorded when posted to birding websites.
