Freezing conditions here at the moment so have fed pieces of apple to the garden birds as well as usual feeder nuts etc
A bird I have never seen before has turned up this mornign about the size of a blackbird or slightly larger but it;s wings droop more it has a grey head with dark around it's eyes and small light bib, brown wings and shoulders, with grey patches above and below the black tail, the breast has a ligher bit down the middle with darker at the sides. It has been eating the apple pieces
I do have a (not very brilliant) picture as I cannot get close to it. The eyes appear white but I think that is just the picture.
I thought it was a strange coloured blackbird at first but the markings are exactly matching each side normally th strange blackbirds I have seen the white or grey marks are patchy.
It is very belligerent towards all the other birds and drives them away
Any clues welcome please
Welcome to the forum forestpony,
the bird in your photo looks like a feildfare.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/f/Fieldfare/index.aspx
The above link will give you some information.
Regards Buzzard
Nature Is Amazing - Let Us Keep It That Way
Hi there - your visitor is a fieldfare, a regular winter visitor and member of the thrush family like blackbirds and song thrushes. In winter you tend to see these in big flocks in the hedgerows and fields but in this hard weather they move into gardens more frequently. To find out more have a look at
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/f/fieldfare/index.aspx
Thank you for the prompt answers - I thought you chaps would know. In my books the breasts of fieldfares are quite heavily barred, this bird has no barring just a widening lighter stripe down down the length of the breast - but otherwise it matches the description.
Thank you again
Welcome to the forum forestpony! Fieldfares are quite variable in their colours and markings!!
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
My photos on Flickr
Hi forestpony, welcome.
Lucky you to have seen it - never seen one although I do keep a look out over the fields for them.
Regards
Kerry
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kezmo6310/
Wow nice visitor!
Millie & Fly the Border Collies
Hello forestpony, fantastic that you got one in your garden.
Hello forestpony and welcome to the forum. What a fantastic bird to have in your garden, I am ever so slightly jealous as I have never even seen one.
The necessity of bird-watching is a really good reason for avoiding all forms of housework.
The dust will still be there tomorrow - the birds may not be!
Thanks Marjus for saying that fieldfares vary, as I've just had a small flock in the garden, and they didn't quite match the bird book's picture or description, with very little barring and a very strong white flash on the wing. I go onto Google images to check on anything that seems a bit unusual, as there is always a variety of pictures there to compare. My garden seems to be a staging post at the moment, with different birds stopping for a feed then flying off!
P.S. By the way Forestpony - your photo looks very much like the one I took, even down to the apple piece!