A bird who normally winters in Central America is currently hanging out in Prospect Park.
The painted bunting was spotted this weekend in the park's LeFrak Center, and word immediately spread.
"It's a pretty big rarity," said Tom Stephenson, who is an author of a bird guide as well as a board member of the Brooklyn Bird Club. He described the bird, an adult male, as "Liberace-like" for its colorful plumage.
"It's a natural mishmash of some of the brightest colors you've ever seen," he said. "It really doesn't look like it was put together by anyone interested in camouflage or modesty or any kind of propriety."
Stephenson said he saw the bird as recently as Wednesday afternoon. "It seems very happy."
But it probably won't be all that happy if New York experiences an old-school New York winter. The buntings that do frequent New York — like the indigo bunting — have usually cleared out of the northeast by the first week of October. Stephenson said it was possible the painted bunting had gotten blown off course; or, maybe now that winters are getting warmer, it could be extending its range.
"He could be an adventurer," said Brooklyn Bird Club president Robert Bate said. "Someone who strikes out for new territory."