Bird skeleton - ID pls.

[Little Firewall]

Bird skeleton found in a disused old ruined church in Wester Ross.
Any ideas what it might have been? (Looked about the size of a starling) Thanks folks.
(Better seen in larger image - click on pic to enlarge)

[Jason Green]

Afternoon Mairi,

Well, the backward-pointing rear toe suggests something that grips branches. It also has a fairly robust appearance and makes me think a Corvid.

Take care,

Jason

[Lance Morgan]

Its a passerine (percher) of some sort. How big? Could be a nest casualty.

[valleyforge]

Don't think it's a corvid ... legs look much too delicate even for a nestling ... besides the legs are too pale perhaps for any corvid other than a jay ... and they don't normally habituate ruins ... or Wester Ross.

At first glance I thought perhaps a nestling starling, which would maybe fit both location and locale, but it is hard to tell without a clue to size.

Mairi, do you perhaps have a better shot of the skull you could post, or maybe give us a rough idea how big the bird was (e.g. sparrow/blackbird/crow size, etc)?

[volence]

I have no idea what it is but I'm going to say sparrow or a finch. The beak from that angle looks finch ish to me no doubt I'll be so wrong when someone positively ID's it

[Little Firewall]

That was the only pic (in focus) I have. I trimmed it and zoomed in ..... does this help any?

I did add on the original upload that it was (I think) the size of a Starling. How long would it have been dead? Although it was in an old church it was quite dry in it and wind and water tight as far as I remember with no broken windows that it could have flown through.

Thanks to all for your interest.
Click on pic to enlarge.

[Little Firewall]

Found one more pic!

[Jason Green]

Could we have dimensions, please Mairi? You know, bill-to-tail, wingspan (Just double the wingtip to backbone figure as it only seems to have the one!), etc.?

Thanks

[Jenny W]

Looking at the bill and considering the size I'm wondering if it's a Blackbird? The bill looks Blackbird shaped from what I can see and a skeleton alone would look smaller than an actual feathered bird, so making me think if you say Starling size it could be something slightly bigger than a Starling when fully feathered. They do nest in building as well.

Saying all that, I could be wrong!

[Jenny W]

Actually looking at the more recent pics I'm not convinced by Blackbird now -sorry!