Beats me what this is

[IanP]

Hi again, all,

I spotted this bird today, up in plantation woodland close to Holme Moss.

It had a sharpish bill that appeared to be a pale colour and slightly upturned.

It sounds like a Redstart (fem?) per the BBC Bird Song site, but according to my book, it's a migrant not due here till April. Can anyone come up with a definitive identification?

[Dogghound]

Its a male chaffinch.

[Wild-Woman]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

Its a male chaffinch.

Seconded.

[glsammy]

Thirded!

[IanP]

It makes sense, now you point it out; there were some in the area. What made me curious was that the chest colour seemed a little too orange and the bill, though the right colour, a bit too slender for the chaffinch. I checked the song on the BBC website and whilst there was a recording of a call on the Redstart page, there wasn't one for comparison on the chaffinch page. Check out the link below - 30 seconds in. That's what I thought I heard.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/...g-redstart.ram

I guess I'll have to start using my wife's Yosemite 6x30s instead of my own Pentax 8x30s.

Thanks all for your inputs.

[Guinnessman1974]

I was surprised so many people said Chaffinch.

When I looked at the photo, my first thought was Nuthatch. The bills looks too slender for a Chaffinch, and the breast too pale in colour for a Chaffinch.

I can also see what appears to be a black stripe across the eye characteristic of a Nuthatch.

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by Guinnessman1974

I was surprised so many people said Chaffinch.

When I looked at the photo, my first thought was Nuthatch. The bills looks too slender for a Chaffinch, and the breast too pale in colour for a Chaffinch.

I can also see what appears to be a black stripe across the eye characteristic of a Nuthatch.

It's definitely a male Chaffinch!

[IanP]

Thanks for your moral support, Guinnessman, but I'd not have considered a Nuthatch,especially in such a location/pose. Approaching the tree from the opposite direction, it wasn't fully visible, but I initially guessed it was a female Greenfinch, thanks to the wing bars. It's sounding more and more like a chaffinch.

I was hoping somebody could point me to a site where Chaffinch calls as well as song can be heard. It was uncannily like the Redstart call on the site I identified above. I've often heard Chaffinch song and can identify them from it, but I've never heard them make the call I heard. Next time, I'll take a short video as well as photos, where I can pick up the sound as well as an image.

[2dogs2000]

The site I use to i.d. by bird calls is the RSPB.

[ChrisJB]

It is a chaffinch, but of the finches, they do have a more slender bill. Thinking about the song of a redstart (rather than the call), the species to me that sounds the most similar to it is the reed bunting.

Regards, Chris