Unidentified bird, Kit Hill, Cornwall

[terste]

I think this is a Common Whitethroat? Seen on Kit Hill, East Cornwall over rough heathland. Can someone confirm please?

[Picidae]

Hi Terste

Nice photo of a Linnet.

Whitethroats are warbler species so the conical bill shape of your bird should help you rule that out among other things.

[Adam Cheeseman]

Male Linnet,

Cheers,

Adam

[terste]

Thanks to you both, the only other time I have seen a Linnet the red markings of the male made it far more obvious.

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by terste

Thanks to you both, the only other time I have seen a Linnet the red markings of the male made it far more obvious.

The red breast on a male Linnet can be very variable (perhaps year old males have less red??). There is some red visible on the bird in your photo, although I can see how the bird could be confused with a male Whitethroat which would tend to show a pink breast.
As Picadae points out, the shape of the beak is very different in finches and warblers. This type of detail is easily missed when you start watching birds, but is the sort of thing that will help you to place an unknown bird in the correct family once you start to look for it. Insect eating species, like warblers, have thin beaks. Finches, which feed more on seeds, need to have heavier beaks. Noticing things like this - and realising the relevance - comes with experience.

Roy.