help identifying bird of prey please

[molli]

Hi, I saw a wonderful bird of prey in my garden today, but can't identify it from pictures on the internet. It doesn't look like any of the pictures on the RSPB site of birds of prey. It was fairly large, but definitely not as big as a red kite (perhaps twice the size of a wood pigeon). It was soft fawny brown in colour on its back, with two slightly darker bands across its tail.
It had two small coin-size white patches on the back of its neck. I couldn't see it's underside because of the way it was turned. it seemed to have light yellow eyes and a light, fairly straight, medium-sized beak. It may have had a slightly lighter 'collar' at the front of its neck but I couldn't see well. It wasn't spotty at all on the back and was consistent in its colour. It flew in and landed on a fence post clutching a medium-sized grey bird and sat for several minutes on the fence post clutching this bird and looking around, before flying off with it in its claws, into the wooded area behind the house.
We live in a village in Oxfordshire but in a residential area not immediately next to fields. I wondered if perhaps it could be a female or immature bird of prey which is why it looked different to the pictures, or whether it is something unusual?
Many thanks
Ruth

[Dogghound]

Are you sure its not a female sparrowhawk?

[Lance Morgan]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

Are you sure its not a female sparrowhawk?

Sounds like one to me

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by molli

It was fairly large ... (perhaps twice the size of a wood pigeon).
Many thanks
Ruth

Size can be difficult to judge, but if the above is even close to accurate, this would probably rule out a Sparrowhawk imo - a large female would still only be about the same size or slightly smaller than a Wood Pigeon. The rest of the description, could be OK for female Sparrowawk (although an even 'tawny' colour on the upperparts wouldn't be how I'd describe their colour regardless of age and sex so more details would help. Do you have any idea what the prey item was? It would help with size estimation.

[molli]

Hi,
Thanks for the replies so far.
I subsequently found a large pile of feathers in the side of the garden - the prey must have been a pigeon. It looked quite small compared to the size of the bird of prey - probably a 'town' pigeon not a wood pigeon - perhaps a quarter and not more than a third of the size of the bird of prey itself. Judging by the length of the feathers left, it would have been a full-size pigeon, not a young one.
The shade of brown was quite light and not reddish at all. Not sure what to compare it to - a bit lighter than a wild rabbit and lighter than milk chocolate!
Thanks again
Ruth