An unusual looking bird was outside about half an hour ago, eating the cat food that I put out by a raised bed near our North Star cherry tree. I've never seen one of these before here in SW Ohio, so I thought I would post a picture to see if anyone else recognizes it.
At first I thought it was a grey jay, then I thought perhaps a kingfisher, but neither of those lives around here. Then I thought perhaps a northern raven, but those are usually darker, much larger, and don't have the grey slash on the side. After looking at the photos, I realized that what I had thought was a crest was actually a humpback of some kind. It is one of the wierder looking birds I've seen around here.
It is grey in color, roughly 11-13" long including the tail, and has a white or light grey mark at the top of the wing. It also has what I would describe as a huge hump, with the head down below. Head itself is a darker black color.