Found in southwest Michigan. It appears to have fallen from a nest.
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$\begingroup$ It's clearly a heron of some kind. My money's on a juvenile Great Blue Heron, but I will need to double-check their juvenile plumage before I can be sure. $\endgroup$– bshaneCommented Jul 1, 2019 at 1:07
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$\begingroup$ Please provide the approximate size of the bird. Thanks. $\endgroup$– theforestecologist ♦Commented Jul 1, 2019 at 2:56
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1 Answer
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The body shape does seem to indicate it's some kind of heron/egret (12 species, of which, have been previously found in Michigan [according to Wikipedia]).
The seemingly large size from your picture (please edit with actual or best approximation of size), the tufted feathers on the head, white face, and the start of a black line on the anterior edge of the eye all suggest that this could be a great blue heron.
Great blue herons are typically grey (not the dark almost black of your specimen), but I did find some photos with nestlings /fledglings with darker plumage, including below:
Source: Wikipedia
answered Jul 1, 2019 at 3:58