Need to ID a bird - try this...

[geoffs]

Well, even though Hummer let the cat out of the bag (it's ok, I don't mind), thanks Eric for answering my questions and filling me in on the details.

I went and viewed your album and you've got some pretty good pictures in there.

The coloration and markings on the bird in your mystery picture pretty much eliminated scads of other birds. I think the thing that did it for me tended to be the posture of this bird. Birds in the goatsucker family (Caprimulgidae) have very short legs and are well known for doing things like reclining on branches during the day. IMHO, it's a pretty safe bet that it was a nighthawk, especially as you had already photographed the same or other individuals that day in the same area.

[Normcar]

I thought it was a fish caught in a tree.

[geoffs]

Norm, that is really funny. I had to go back to look at the picture again and was surprised to see that you could indeed interpret (as a joke) the image so that it appeared somewhat like a fish with a gaping mouth.

[Normcar]

What? You mean it's not a fish caught in a tree? Ack