This is a good rule to follow when identifying birds: the simple and common answer almost always is the correct answer. Take the Black-headed Grosbeak for example. It is a species found west of the Missouri River. It has been recorded in Minnesota, but not annually. The problem is that female and juvenile Black-heads closely resemble female and juvenile Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, a common Minnesota species. Separation of the two species is possible with a good look at the breast and/or underwing linings. So, with perhaps a fleeting view or a less than perfect view, the least likely but most exciting possibility can come to mind: a Black-headed Grosbeak is at my feeder. This happens here every fall. This misidentification probably was not nearly so common in the days when bird ID books contained only eastern North American bird species or only western. That way, we did not see Black-heads and Rose-breasteds side-by-side as we do today in the Sibley, National Geographic, and new Peterson guides, for example. The common answer was the only one we had. The bird pictured here is a juvenile Rose-breasted Grosbeak (I think).

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