Help Please! Can you identify this Bird?? (1 Viewer)

[SOR]

Hello all,

Just joined the forum solely to identify a bird. I haven’t a clue what it is.

Seen Bexley, London. In a tree in open area next to main road. Wooded area nearby.

Size: Larger than a blackbird but no bigger than a pigeon.

Please see photo and short video.

Does anyone know what this is?

 

[Richard D]

Welcome - from what I can make out it's a Jay.

 

[SOR]

Welcome - from what I can make out it's a Jay.

Thanks Richard, I did think this but what made me question was that Jays have flashes of blue on them and the black stripe on a Jay runs across the ‘cheek’. This bird has a definite black stripe across the eyes in addition to this.

Could it be a juvenile Jay you think? Or a juvenile blue jay.

 

[delia todd]

Hi Sor and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators. I think Richard is right that it's a Jay, but a Eurasian Jay, as Blue Jays are only found in the States. Here's a link to our Opus article for the Jay: Eurasian Jay - BirdForum Opus.

I've moved your post to the ID forum for their input on your questions.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news.

 

[ClarkWGriswold]

Welcome to BirdForum. Agree with Jay.

Rich

 

[THE_FERN]

Nothing unusual about this jay that I can see...

 

[pianoman]

Eurasian Jays do have a small amount of light blue on the wings, but in shadow and at a distance it is normal for it not to show very well, or at all. No doubt, it is a Eurasian Jay.

 

[01101001]

Hello, and welcome to the forum from me as well! This bird is mostly orangey in places where a Blue Jay would be blue : Blue Jay - BirdForum Opus. I'm not sure I could tell whether it's a juvenile or not from the photo (I can't view the video on the phone), but if you're interested in ageing Eurasian Jays, have a look below.

 

[nartreb]

It's a Eurasian Jay. (Not a Blue Jay, that would be pretty remarkable in London.) The photos and video have a lot of orange and pink and purple overtones that are partly due to lighting and partly due to using a not-quite-good-enough camera. (For a zoomed-in photo or video of a bird at a distance, you really need a big lens and a big sensor; a tripod also helps a lot.)

This bird has a definite black stripe across the eyes in addition to [the black cheek mark]

That's just a shadow; you can see similar black patches all over the photo, for example the textured bark on the big branch at the bottom of the photo.

There is not nearly enough detail visible in this shot to draw any conclusions about the bird's age.