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Something like an American Robin

Claym
02/02/2019 17:34

Walking to work this morning I saw what I thought was a large thrush from the back, but then I glimpsed a large red chest, so I took a double take - certainly nothing that I'd seen before. It had a clear dash of white under its eye, a dark head, and was on frosted grass beside a suburban road in Leeds, West Yorkshire. I am very far from a bird expert, but having been looking at pictures of red breasted birds, it absolutely looks like an American Robin - except that the white dash under the eye was a straight line, whereas in pictures it seems curved; and I didn't notice white above the eye. What else might it have been? I understand that American Robins are extremely rare in the UK, though not unknown, so it's far more likely to have been something else. Any ideas?

  • 0 04/02/2019 08:07

    Having just googled a picture of an American robin, the bird that springs to mind when it comes to looks would be a brambling.  But those are a bit smaller than thrush sized.  I'm south of you, in Sheffield, and there are TONS of them around this winter. 

  • 0 04/02/2019 21:53
    Could it be a male Redstart,they have a red breast and a white stripe but that is above the eye
  • 0 04/02/2019 22:06 in reply to Seaman
    Not at this time it year, Pete, they usually arrive back in April (sometimes the odd bird in late March). They are also smaller than the bird described, only about the size of a (European) Robin.
  • 0 04/02/2019 22:42
    Maybe time for a summary of where we have got to.

    If the description is correct I don't think it can be a common British bird in normal plumage. So we have the options;

    a) The description doesn't quite reflect the actual bird
    b) It is a common bird but with an unusual plumage
    c) It is a rare wild bird
    d) It is an escaped cage bird

    a) Can easily happen especially with a brief sighting and the effect of light changing the appearance is a good suggestion. Size is also notoriously hard to judge.
    b) Unusual plumages happen but unlike the more regular examples of unusually white birds (leucism) or dark birds (melanism) I can't think of an example of a bird with an unusual and extensive patch of red (sometimes plumage that is normally red can be yellowish or purplish but I've not seen the reverse that I can think of).
    c) If it is the rare bird suggested (and no one has suggested another one) the description isn't detailed enough to confirm it and there is the odd discrepancy (e.g. white seen below the eye but not above).
    d) That's a whole world of birds, not sure where to start!

    Unless we are all missing something spectacularly obvious then I think we need a picture Claym!
  • 0 05/02/2019 21:12 in reply to melodious
    I would agree Melodious but I have learnt that birds do not always follow the rules hence my suggestion. Maybe the suggestion of an escaped cage bird may be correct
  • 0 07/02/2019 17:31 in reply to Seaman
    I certainly agree with that, Pete; locally to me House Martin, Whinchat and Yellow Wagtail have all made appearances in February so nothing is really unthinkable. Your comment also made me think 'what would a male Redstart actually look like in late winter?'. Sifting through some pictures of birds wintering in Africa it looks like they aren't too far from the plumage we are familiar with in spring and summer by this sort of time of year.
  • 0 09/02/2019 18:17 in reply to Paul A
    Hi! Thank you for another suggestion... It was too big, I think, to be a bullfinch, which we get in our garden sometimes and which I'm familiar with. The dark head wasn't quite so vivid a black and the line under the eye was absolutely distinctive. The red was darker, too, but I appreciate that might have been an effect of the light...
  • 0 09/02/2019 18:22 in reply to Claym
    I appreciate all the suggestions, and also that without my having taken a photo, we'll never know :) . I simply made the original post because I was intrigued and couldn't find an id online except one which I thought highly unlikely, and I wondered if I had missed something obvious. All my thanks - and, next time, if there is one, I will make sure to take a photo :)
  • 0 09/02/2019 18:28 in reply to Claym
    The bottom line to these threads, Claym, is to provide a convincing answer to the poster's question. I don't think any of us have managed to do that for you so I think you are adopting the right spirit in saying 'we'll never know'. It's certainly goes with the birding territory; I've still got a couple that niggle me a bit from many years back!
  • 0 10/02/2019 22:53
    Red on the front, dark on the back, white near the eyes, sounds like a redstart to me. If it is, I am jealous.