flap flap glide

[gregA]

what small bird with a longish tail has a flap,flap glide flight pattern i remember somone mentioning it here a few weeks ago but i can't seem to find the thread
thanks gregA

[htcdude]

Green Woodpecker or Great Spotted Woodpecker fits the bill.

If they're too big try Pied or Grey Wagtail.

Nige

[aeshna5]

How small is small? Was it flying high above you?

Sparrowhawks often have a flap flap glide flight + could look quite small if fairly high.

Guess your description leaves things fairly wide open.

[Shrike]

the flap flap glide is a way of spotting sparrowhawks ,other birds have this habit but when your kickin off your birdwatching and finding sprawks difficult to spot compered to say kessies and buzzards the flap flap glide is a good way to double check your pigeons.

[RoyW]

Sparrowhawk is the one typically described as having this type of flight pattern, but isn't really a small bird.
The vast majority of passerines fly with short burst of wing beats, but tendto fold their wings against the body between bursts - this results in the undulating flight pattern often seen, because they dip down when they stop beating their wings (could be described as 'flap, flap, glide' I guess).

I wouldn't really know where to start with a species suggestion for you though.

[King Edward]

Was the 'glide' with the wings held open (e.g. Sparrowhawk), or tucked in to the body (e.g. Woodpecker)? I don't think you'd normally describe the latter as a glide, without the wings to provide lift.

[gregA]

it definatly was to small for a sparrowhawk or green woodpecker. it was only about 20ft or so above me but there was only dull light so it appeared as a silohette. i watched it fly for a bit and every time it would flap twice then glide
including tail a rough estimate would be about 7 or 8 inches.

gregA

[Shrike]

theres a piece in this months Birdwatch magazine about flight identification of thrushes and starlings, if it brought its wings right into its body when gliding its most likely starling if not possibly thrush.

[dunkeld]

What about a Jay ! I see them a lot,they,to me,have a flap,flap glide ish type of flight

[diggleken]

If you were a tad overkeen about the tail length, the classic flap and glide medium sized bird is a Starling.
Cheers
Ken