Help identify bird, I've looked in all the books!

[theanimallover]

I've been keeping my eye out for him. We saw him originally around 7pm, so I'll keep a special eye out then.

I should have grabbed my camera...damn.

He was pretty hungry as he didn't seem to mind us watching him, he was too busy eating.

[Adam Cheeseman]

It would be very unusual but not impossible for it to be a Dark-eyed Junco. It is a strange time of year for one to turn up, but IF it were one now it could easily be a bird that may have turned up somewhere else last year and is now following its natural migration instinct, or it could have been around your area all the time. The location is not a problem as I've seen one in a back garden in a village in north Hampshire.

As Tursiops said they are a North American bird and do occur over here very rarely as windblown or ship-assisited vagrants.

My own feeling is it's not a Junco, but either an abberrant native bird or something out of a cage, of which there are many.

Cheers,

Adam

[RoyW]

I have to disagree with the statement that it would be unusual for a trans-atlantic vagrant to turn up at this time of year though - late May to early June is, perhaps surprisingly, actually fairly typical for the discovery of American sparrows/ buntings.
However, the race that theanimallover has picked out is a western race (Oregon Junco), and as such is extremely unlikely to reach Britain, except perhaps as an escaped cage bird.

To be honest, my money would still be on it being a melanistic Great Tit - just not one that looked like the first example posted. It would probably be possible for a melanistic Great Tit to be similar in colour to the Oregon Junco.
Here is another example Great Tit-
Buiten-beeld - Search

Roy.

[theanimallover]

I guess if he was a melanistic great tit, he would turn up again, as we have great tits feeding here. But...my one had a very smooth coat, I can't explain it, but it doesn't really match the picture, although the head looks right! He was smooth all over and had black streaks in his tail or wing feathers, now my memory is starting to fade...

[Jenny W]

My bets on an escaped cage bird if not a melanistic Great Tit. Have you looked at Java Sparrow yet - common cage birds.

[theanimallover]

Hoorah, he came back! Just now, almost exactly the same time of evening that I first saw him, boyfriend spotted him, and...

I started to think he was a melanistic great tit, then another (ordinary looking) great tit arrived! So he must be, they are a pair.

I'm so pleased!

Everyone - thanks!