Black Woodpecker?

[RoyW]

Originally Posted by Rutlander

Maybe I should have suggested it was a woodpecker that was black? Anyway, as a layman (ie non-birder) I've probably missed an opportunity, however small, to increase my spotting skills. I don't think it was a Spotted Nutcracker. Sorry for any false alarm but I will make the effort to cycle that way again and hope to get a second sighting.

There are always situations like this where the views had don't quite allow a bird to be identified, no matter how experienced you are with birds.

Originally Posted by ~T~

I saw a similar bird during late summer which people here thought could have been a spotted nutcracker. Have a look and see if that looks anything like it. It was it's resemblance to a woodpecker that struck me most though was mostly black with some white and a grey/brown head.

I can't say that it sounds much like a Nutcracker to me from that description!

[poschiavanus]

Originally Posted by ~T~

I saw a similar bird during late summer which people here thought could have been a spotted nutcracker. Have a look and see if that looks anything like it. It was it's resemblance to a woodpecker that struck me most though was mostly black with some white and a grey/brown head.

The really obvious points about the Nutcracker in all plumages are the prominent white vent and the stout bill. I'd never think of them as black all over. In flight the vent is usually very obvious and the similarity to Jay (or even Magpie) becomes apparent.

[John B (NTS)]

Originally Posted by poschiavanus

The really obvious points about the Nutcracker in all plumages are the prominent white vent and the stout bill. I'd never think of them as black all over. In flight the vent is usually very obvious and the similarity to Jay (or even Magpie) becomes apparent.

If you set aside the startling white around the tail end Nutcrackers can look uncannily like winter plumage Starlings on steroids.

[~T~]

Originally Posted by poschiavanus

The really obvious points about the Nutcracker in all plumages are the prominent white vent and the stout bill. I'd never think of them as black all over. In flight the vent is usually very obvious and the similarity to Jay (or even Magpie) becomes apparent.

Yeh that's pretty much what I thought when I saw it, like a magpie crossed with a woodpecker.