[mou] Need ID help

[Sam Smyrk]

A friend and I were hiking at Carver Park Reserve this afternoon and at 
about 5:30 pm we spotted a bird which we had not seen before.  Infact I 
don't recall ever even seeing a picture of the bird.  We paged through our 
National Geographic Field Guide to Birds and were unable to find anything 
close to what we were looking at.  We studied the bird for fifteen minutes 
through our binocs at 15 yards or less as it flew between ash trees near us. 
  About ten minutes later we saw a pair pearched on low vegitation just 
outside of a marsh area.

The bird was a bit larger than a sparrow, most of its body was black aside 
from a white crown that started halfway across the top of the head (similar 
to a bufflehead but not so far down the cheek)  It had white stripes on each 
shoulder forming a V on its back.  The bird also had a white stripe down its 
lower back and tail.  This bird was definately not a woodpecker although at 
first glance (in flight) I thought it was a female downy.

This bird may very well be common, but as I am not incredibly bird savy and 
it was not in my book, I thought I would bring it up.  If anyone has an idea 
as to what this may have been please let me know.

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