ST. LOUIS – With the way the Cardinals’ season has gone, maybe it was a wayward swallow making its way back to Capistrano. Or just a lost loon.

Whatever the bird that landed at Busch Stadium during Tuesday night’s Brewers-Cardinals game, it wasn’t a harbinger of good luck.

The Redbirds were eliminated from playoff contention with their loss to the NL Central-leading Brewers.

But it was the commentary from Brad Thompson and Chip Carey that livened up the broadcast.

“They think it’s a chestnut-sided warbler,” said Aileen Abbott, World Bird Sanctuary.

“Which is one of the common warbler species that will migrate through here in the fall and the spring. You can see them at Tower Grove Park and the beautiful males are looking for the females.”

The World Bird Sanctuary is aware of migratory season. The Gateway Arch has not been lit up at night for that very reason.

“We have begun our fall bird migration,” says Abbott. “Birds are traveling from the North to the South to spend in Central or South America. We’re on the Mississippi Flyway, so there’s lots of food for them and cover for them, and sometimes they get a little confused and they wind up in a baseball stadium.”

In the end, this little birdy didn’t bring any luck to our beloved Redbirds.