I've just seen something amazing! what the heck was it? (no pic)

bomberman

bomberman

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I just caught a quick glimpse of this really nice bird out in the garden..

It was like a robin, but much much darker, almost black feathers and a deep red belly, the outline of which was a lot less defined in outline. It was the same size as a robin. Looked a bit like the robin's evil twin lol. Really beautiful bird though.

was it a robin?
 
Nope. The feathers on it's back were definitely much darker, and the red patch was more scruffy looking but really dark red and it wasn't as big. It definitely didn't extend down towards the feet like in those two pics.
 
A chaffinch?
chaffinch.jpg



Or perhaps a Bohemian Waxwing?
bohemian-waxwing.jpg
 
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They're all beautiful but this was robin size and shape and almost black in colour. Our gardens ace I've just found a hedgehog! He's just sniffing and going about his business as I type this :-)
 
Redstart I woud think.
 
I suppose it could depend on were your garden Is,that might have some bearing on what type of bird it is.
 
In fairness to Chris, he is saying that it is very difficult to be accurate on a description only. Though his way of saying that could be construed as OTT, not that I have ever been accused of similar things.....
 
I'm in west Yorkshire if that helps. Definitely not a red start. Not a stonechat either as it didn't have a White bit on the neck. The dartford warbler is looking closer in dark colour, but the red patch was in the same position as a robin's, only it was very scruffy in outline. Think evil scruffy robin :lol:
 


was it like this?
 
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Did you have a check on the rspb website? Is a pretty good little tool.
 
CT said:
4825865959_b05a6ea12d_o.jpg
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Chris Wormwell is not here to make friends. He's here to liven the boring times when he's not out with his binoculars and camera and you folks are certainly brightening up those times.

The description is useless for a postive ID and the suggestions less than helpful. If the OP is incapable of finding the bird in a fieldguide what makes you all think your suggestions are going to come within a country mile of anything he saw?
Mex's Dunnock suggestion was pure genius and, I suspect, a little tongue-in-cheek.
The bird was clearly a sub-adult Robin with wet feathers. See, I can do it too.
 
Chris Wormwell said:
The description is useless for a postive ID and the suggestions less than helpful. If the OP is incapable of finding the bird in a fieldguide what makes you all think your suggestions are going to come within a country mile of anything he saw?
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As bird descriptions go, I'd have thought it was a pretty good one with very limited possibilties as to what it might actually be given the size and colouration. I could understand if it was some little brown bird with a limited description and infinite possibilities, but it wasn't, so what's wrong with people suggesting some of the more likely possibilities? Where does it say that the OP even consulted a field guide?

Perhaps it's just your posting style , but yet again you come across as arrogant, pompous and superior.
 
CT said:
As bird descriptions go, I'd have thought it was a pretty good one with very limited possibilties as to what it might actually be given the size and colouration.
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all the possibilities have certainly mentioned (and then some!) but still no result. What does that tell you?

CT said:
Perhaps it's just your posting style , but yet again you come across as arrogant, pompous and superior.
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and I should care about this because?
 
Chris Wormwell said:
all the possibilities have certainly mentioned (and then some!) but still no result. What does that tell you?



and I should care about this because?
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Well the day IS brightened up now.........

I too am wondering what else anyone can do to help the poster short of sending him a list of every bird that has ANY of the refered bits.

A more practicable thing would be to suggest looking out for it some more and getting a shot of it.....then maybe it would be a wet Robin after all and everyone can get back to looking at birds..lol

Keith :thumbs:
 
Chris, why don't you get off the thread hmmmm? Nothing better to do than troll around on internet forums?

Mex's Dunnock suggestion was pure genius
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I'd hardly say it was genius. I could easily go around posting joke-answers to people's threads but i've actually got a life. why would i waste my time? It's just annoying. so less "genius" and more "not very funny and quite sad".

As bird descriptions go, I'd have thought it was a pretty good one with very limited possibilties as to what it might actually be given the size and colouration
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Thanks CT. I got excited because i saw a new bird in the garden which i'd never seen before, i didn't get a pic, i had no idea where to look and so i came to the TP forum for a bit of advice. And smoothedit - thanks for the link, i'll check it out.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. Everyone else: GET A LIFE!
 
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bomberman said:
Thanks CT. I got excited because i saw a new bird in the garden which i'd never seen before, i didn't get a pic, i had no idea where to look and so i came to the TP forum for a bit of advice.
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OK let's get one thing perfectly clear, I'm not trolling, just dismayed at some of the suggestions.

I mean, a black, robin-sized Waxwing in July?


That said, your description of the bird was very vague and changed part way through thread (red on the belly to red in the same place as a Robin - make your mind up!).
You didn't tell us what it was doing, where it was (on the ground, in a tree, on the bird table, having a shower in your bathroom, nothing) nor where your garden was situated in relation to surrounding habitat or geographically - all things which would have possibly helped narrow down the parameters.
And then you come to a photography forum with no photograph and ask for ID help? Is it any surprise you got such a wide variety of suggestions?
 
Hi,
could it have been a melanistic Robin? Or a Linnet?

Long shots would be accidentals: American Robin (probably too large), Crossbill (too red), Red-Breasted Flycatcher, Scarlet Grosbeak, Sub-Alpine Warbler or the red-throated form of the Black-Throated Thrush (probably too large).
All the above have occasionally been recorded in Britain.

As Chris Wormwell says, any extra info would help; tail-flicks, bobbing etc

Hope you get a photo if it appears again, if it was a melanistic robin it could reappear.

QS
 
Chris Wormwell said:
OK let's get one thing perfectly clear, I'm not trolling, just dismayed at some of the suggestions.

I mean, a black, robin-sized Waxwing in July?


That said, your description of the bird was very vague and changed part way through thread (red on the belly to red in the same place as a Robin - make your mind up!).
You didn't tell us what it was doing, where it was (on the ground, in a tree, on the bird table, having a shower in your bathroom, nothing) nor where your garden was situated in relation to surrounding habitat or geographically - all things which would have possibly helped narrow down the parameters.
And then you come to a photography forum with no photograph and ask for ID help? Is it any surprise you got such a wide variety of suggestions?
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Got to agree with the No photo...I.D. part.
Keith :thumbs:
 
"Long shots would be accidentals: American Robin (probably too large), Crossbill (too red), Red-Breasted Flycatcher, Scarlet Grosbeak, Sub-Alpine Warbler or the red-throated form of the Black-Throated Thrush (probably too large).
All the above have occasionally been recorded in Britain."

OMG!!
 
Less of the crappy attitudes please. Regardless of whether you A : Have a point, or B : Are here to make friends.
 
Marcel said:
Less of the crappy attitudes please. Regardless of whether you A : Have a point, or B : Are here to make friends.
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You always know when a thread is getting interesting - we get to see Marcel's happy smiling avatar and some wise, perceptive words.
 
Sorry Mex,

I don't understand your post, are you saying that we don't get accidentals (vagrants) in this country? and that all the twitchers running around are really looking at misidentified British birds? All I did was list red breasted birds from Europe in case they'd got the wrong flight ticket.
When I was a kid I saw a baby white heron and got a similar response to yours; now little egrets are common in this country.
Spoonbills, red kites and ospreys turn up in Devon but people don't (yet) consider them to be Devon birds.

To the OP, it could also be an escapee from an aviary. A while back there was a budgerigar that came to the garden for a year with a flock of sparrows.

Devon has a good "recent sightings" site and it's interesting how many unusual birds are around.
http://www.wildlifeindevon.org.uk/pages/sightings.htm

QS
 
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