Just a female cowbird.

Pileated Woodpecker-2, Hairy Woodpecker-2, Downy Woodpecker-2, Red bellied woodpecker-1, Crow-3, Cardinal-2, Junco - 1, Black Capped Chickadee-5, White breasted nuthatch-2, House finch-2, Gold finch-3, Brown Headed Cowbird-2.  I had an unfamiliar bird at the feeder today.  It was eating seed off the deck.  It stood there patiently, showing all sides. This bird wasn't much to look at; black eyes, beak and legs, gray body, a finchy beak, larger than a sparrow but smaller than a cardinal, indistinct markings on the gray wings.  I got out my bird book.  It wasn't a finch.  The tail had a divot.  I looked through all the flycatchers.  Maybe it was a Say's Phoebe but I wasn't sure.  I heard the phoebe calling so maybe it was a Say's phoebe.  But maybe it wasn't.  The bird came back three times to help me identify it.  Later I saw it sitting in the grass eating seed with a brown headed cowbird.  Oh, I see, it was a female brown headed cowbird. Isn't that always the case?  You think you got something rare (like a pine siskin) and when the male shows up you realize it's just a cowbird (or a house finch).  Cowbirds are not my favorite bird.  They lay their eggs in other bird nests and expect the nest builder to feed and raise their young.  Because cowbirds used to follow the buffalo herds, they didn't have time to raise their young.  The nest building birds don't recognize the cowbird eggs as different and will run themselves ragged trying to feed the cowbird chick which is often times larger than they are.