Help with strange bird ID!

[alecspoons]

Having lived my entire life in the countryside, I am at least familiar with perhaps the majority of the common, native birds. But I have seen something that has totally bemused me, as I have never seen anything like it. To be frank, I'm not even certain it was a bird!

I have not got a photo, so I will attempt to describe what I saw, although I'm afraid this is going to sound really, really odd.

Driving in my home county of Suffolk on the A1120 somewhere between Dennington and Stonham Aspal, I saw what must have been a bird fly from the grass verge to the telephone wires above. It flew vertically in a peculiar, waggling, zig-zag manner, almost as if it were struggling to rise. It seemed to have a very long tail which waved side-to-side as it rose, and it seemed to have a long thin head. Below is a sketch of what it looked like:



I realise that's not much to go on! It was about 1ft to 1.5ft long from end to end and brown. I got the impression of wings beating very fast, like some giant dragon fly, where I've drawn the circle. I didn't see it perch, unfortunately.

This has completely confused me and everyone I've asked. It's a long-shot, I know, but has anyone any ideas?

Thanks

[Bub-les]

could it have been a female pheasant?
Barbara

[aeshna5]

Probably not, but it sounds like a good description of one of the African whydah species. If it was it will be an escape from an aviary + people keep all sorts of birds these days. I certainly know of escaped Pin-tailed Whydahs here in the past, though the various paradise whydahs have even more flambouyant tails.

[Kayleigh]

Hoopoe or lapwing maybe

[alecspoons]

I'd just like to thank you for responding with ideas, despite my vague description!

I'm as sure as I can be that it's not a female pheasant - I see them pretty much every day, and what I saw was very different!

As regards the other suggestions: I have looked at pictures and videos of each on the internet, and I'm none the wiser. There are few videos of these birds in flight, that I could find, and those I did see were at a different angle. Nothing I saw convinced me, but some of the descriptions I read seemed plausible.

I guess I will probably never know what it was. It was so strange, so completely alien to anything I've seen before: it makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck just remembering it!

If I ever find out - I'll let you know.

Thanks again.

[Pigeon feather]

Perhaps it was a bird of prey struggling with a snake

[outdoorguy]

look up brown female cuckoo.. they flutter when they fly and have a long tail.. worth a look.. james