[Catrin]

Hi,
There was a very strange bird in my Hertfordshire garden for a short while this morning. I have no idea what it could possibly be, and I'm sorry I don't have a photo of it - if it reappears I'll give it a go, however small it is in the picture.

In the absence of a photo I'll have to try and remember what we could see from the bathroom window. In general outline, appearance, beak, behaviour, etc it looked like a rather fluffy juvenile tit. It was a lot larger than the blue tits that were also around at the same time. However, it had a white tail, and the outer feathers of its wings were also white. Three feathers on the left, and two on the right.

Its back, head and the rest of its wings were brown (ish?) - a bit sparrow like - I know I should have paid more attention to that but I was so astonished to see it that I didn't.

Its chest was a sort of apricot orange - very bright, but washed out towards the edges. It also had a patch of orange on the back of its neck - not symmetrical, but skewed around to the left hand side.

It sat on the edge of the bird bath for a while, and the other birds around gave it a very wide berth - veering off from landing at the last minute.

It looked like nothing I have ever seen, my current guess is that it is some kind of mutant, especially since the markings are not symmetrical. Or, alternatively, could it be an escapee?

Any suggestions?
Cheers