Bird ID?

[Meugher]

While out watching buzzards today we saw a bird that we couldn't identify. Thrush/blackbird sized with fark brown wings/tail and a wide brightish yellow streak running from head to tail. It was flying round with its mate in first growth woodland near Caerwys in north Wales. Sorry I can't give more description. Any ideas?

ta

Andy

[Gill Catton]

Could it be a green woodpecker? These can often look quite brownish but the yellowy rump can be really obvious.

[Meugher]

Thanks Gill, that's what wqe thought but the bird ID books we have looked at seem to show much more variety of colour in head, wings, tail whereas this was all one colour but with the wide yellow streak all the way down. Yet Green Woodpecker seems the most likely candidate as nothing else looks even vaguely like it.

ta

andy

[Suffolk-Chris]

Was it a Golden Oriole on a migration stop-over? Seems a bit far west for it, but the size and dark wings description may fit.

[htcdude]

Originally Posted by Meugher

Thanks Gill, that's what wqe thought but the bird ID books we have looked at seem to show much more variety of colour in head, wings, tail whereas this was all one colour but with the wide yellow streak all the way down. Yet Green Woodpecker seems the most likely candidate as nothing else looks even vaguely like it.

ta

andy

It may have been a juvenile, they are a lot duller in colour

Nige

[John B (NTS)]

Originally Posted by Suffolk-Chris

Was it a Golden Oriole on a migration stop-over? Seems a bit far west for it, but the size and dark wings description may fit.

I wouldn't have thought so. There's no brown on a Golden Oriole and when you get a decent look at them the males are quite shockingly bright yellow.