Hi all
Thanks for your help about snipe, it was a common snipe, i went back and got a real view of a very long beak.
My next question is about thrushes. I have a thrush in my garden who likes to smash snails on my window and also eats bread from the patio hanging out with the sparrows. Is this a song or a mistle thrush. both look the same in my book and on any other pictures I have seen.
thanks for youer help again
Hi Athena,
There are several recent threads about identifying thrushes. One of these is particularly informative - see this link
http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/forums/p/6597/48812.aspx#48812
Just a tip - if you have a question it is perhaps best to use the search facility to see if there has been a similar question. By typing in the word Thrush, you would have found these threads.
Hope this helps
Cheers, Linda.
See my photos on Flickr
I fortunately have the same problem in my garden. I have 2 Mistle Thrushes and a Song Thrush.
Mistle tend to be around a third larger than a Song , and a Song tends to be slightly smaller than a Blackbird. Also a Mistle has a "pot belly" where a Song tends to stand more upright. If you get a chance, the underwings of a "Missie" are white, whereas a Song Thrush has a sandy coloured underwing. The Mistle Thrush tail will also be streaked at the edges with white (Song will be streaky brown). The underbelly of the Song Thrush is also more likely to be streakier.
If it's any more help then at my cafe it is usually the Song Thrush bashing all the snails on the rockery, the Missies tend to make life easier for themselves (Unless mine are lazy ones)
Nigel