Unusual bird for ID?

[sebastianbawn]

Hi all. My partner took these images earlier after a storm, apologies for the poor quality. They struck me as funny as at first I thought it was a crow, but the head does not look right. Also in one shot the face appears a little brown, and in the other it appears to have some white near it's tail. It obviously isn't a Bird of Prey (judging by the feet). It may just be how the light falls and the funny angle, but it just does not sit right as a Crow?
Looks approx 20cm head to tail



Just checked with my partner, she believe it had a falcon-like beak and that it did have rufous cheeks, as can be seen in image 1. I cannot work it out

[artdemole]

Looks like a predator.

[Anders152]

I'm going with Sparrowhawk. It's the skinny legs and general posture.

[Farplace]

Looks like a sparrowhawk to me too.

[sebastianbawn]

That was one of my thoughts, but....

1. All black? (unless a melanistic mutation)#

2. Rufous cheeks?

[shenk1]

Dark grey from behind and reddish around face - I'd say male Sparrowhawk.

[Naturenutz]

I agree male Sparrowhawk

[sebastianbawn]

Is it usual for them to be so dark?

[John B (NTS)]

100% Male Sparrowhawk. The lighting conditions must have made it appear dark.

[shenk1]

The cameras exposure settings will be picking up a lot of white from the background and this will make darker grey objects seem even darker.