At first glance a Dunnock but with a speckled chest like a thrush ?

Would love to see a photo Mayeux if you can get one.

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In reply to Alan.:

Me too Alan normally have a phone nearby but both times I saw them I was taking phone calls !

In reply to Alan.:

Had another siting this morning but the photo off my phone camera is not good enough ,
but should say from the back they look more like house sparrows colour wise

Hi Mayeux even a bad photo may help to ID the bird, try googling Reed Bunting male and female.

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Hi Colour wise more like a corn bunting but its beak is for finding insects, fine like a dunnock, the last time we saw them it was a frosty morning like today , as the weather is changing here think we will see them again
Have not looked how to post a photo yet

To post a photo look under any reply box and you should see a link that says use rich formatting, click on that and you should be able to find the option to upload a photo.
Whereabouts are you living that may help rule some birds out.

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Meadow pipit?

Yes think it is thank you , sorry not that tech savy replied Sat and earlier only for it to not to register .....hadnt signed in ,
We have seen them before, but not known what they are , a few years ago found a dead bird under the power lines that supply our house in the Cotes d’ Armor the only bird that fit for colour was a Meadow Pipit but that bird was much bigger but that then gave us a false picture of a Meadow Pipit was

In reply to Mayeux:

I think meadow pipits are pretty variable in colour. The ones in Norfolk could be mistaken for dunnocks but the ones in Cornwall are much paler and yellowish almost female yellowhammer-like (unless I've misidentified them).

It seems pretty certain that you have indeed misidentified them in both locations. Meadow Pipits aren't very variable at all, and couldn't possibly be mistaken for Dunnock. Where in Norfolk did you see them? If it was the coast perhaps they were Rock Pipits which are a duller bird than Meadow. Female or juvenile Yellowhammer can be quite dull and I guess fleeting views could be mistaken by a less experienced observer. Dunnock do have some subtle streaking which is more obvious in juvenile birds, so if Mayeux's bird looks like a streaky Dunnock it is probably that.

Threads like this one often leave me wondering what ID guides people are using, i find the illustrations in many guides poor to the point that they make identification difficult for newcomers and casual or inexperienced observers. Even the RSPB illustrations on this site are poor, they remind of bird guides of 30 years and more ago. Bird illustration has improve massively yet many guides continue to be printed using poor outdated images.