Hi, came on here to try an ID bird (Rosy Starling?) seen in my N. Yorks UK garden this morning (1 Viewer)

[Ryor]

But it seems like an excellent place with friendly people, so I think I might stay

The last previous post in that part of the forum was 21 months ago, so will copy it here for more coverage, hope that's OK?

"Think I might have just seen one (a Rosy Starling) breaking the ice on drinker in our garden in rural North Yorkshire! 650 feet up, pastureland/trees/bushy cover next to drinker. No pic, sadly, as it caught me by surprise & flew off fairly quickly.

Only thing is, what I saw looked a much plumper shape than photos I've seen so far - more like a dove or pigeon. Maybe one that's extremely well-fed?! or different species? My description would be 'pigeon size & shape, black cap, rosy-dun breast, light coloured back, black streaks along wing & tail feathers, sharp med. length beak'.

Very striking, have never seen anything like it before in the UK.

Cheers if you can help!"
Ryor

 

[delia todd]

Hi Ryor and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators. I've moved your post to the ID forum, as they're better placed to be able to help you.
Rosy Starling isn't impossible, and size is very difficult to estimate.

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

 

[Ryor]

Many thanks indeed Delia, much appreciated 👍

 

[Keith Dickinson]

Hi Ryor, from your description it could well be a rosy starling as there have been several birds in Yorkshire in recent years. There is almost no difference in size between common starling (which I assume you are very familiar with) and rosy starling so your estimate that it was pigeon sized and shaped is what is stopping me being more confident about the id.
There is a subforum for all things Yorkshire Here come along and join in the threads. We tend to be a bit irregular with our postings, though I do try and keep bumping pages there.

 

[Ryor]

Excellent, thanks Keith, will have a good read of the God's own county forum later 👍

I'm also not at all confident! Sighting was through my kitchen window & really startled me, I'd want to see it again to be sure. The other thought was a giant female bullfinch as markings were extremely similar, but from memory, beak was wrong as well as the size (my immediate reaction was "is that some kind of dove I've never heard of before? 🤔").

Interestingly, a buddy on a different platform said " when I first moved into my house on Skye I had a similar bird in the garden and I never photographed it on the assumption that it would be around all the time. Never seen it since..."

Someone also mentioned a strange & unwelcome new habit in some parts, esp Spain, of painting pigeons in various artificial colours at 'events'!

 

[KC Foggin]

Hi there Ryor and a warm welcome to you.. I hope you enjoy your time with us

 

[Keith Dickinson]

Excellent, thanks Keith, will have a good read of the God's own county forum later 👍

I'm also not at all confident! Sighting was through my kitchen window & really startled me, I'd want to see it again to be sure. The other thought was a giant female bullfinch as markings were extremely similar, but from memory, beak was wrong as well as the size (my immediate reaction was "is that some kind of dove I've never heard of before? 🤔").

Interestingly, a buddy on a different platform said " when I first moved into my house on Skye I had a similar bird in the garden and I never photographed it on the assumption that it would be around all the time. Never seen it since..."

Someone also mentioned a strange & unwelcome new habit in some parts, esp Spain, of painting pigeons in various artificial colours at 'events'!

You do get a very large variation in feral pigeon plumage, I have seen them almost the same colour as collared doves so that may be a possibilty.

 

[Kits]

Welcome to Birdforum. I hope you enjoy your visits.

 

[Ryor]

You do get a very large variation in feral pigeon plumage, I have seen them almost the same colour as collared doves so that may be a possibilty.

I've now measured the size of the bird bath it was perched on (should probably have done that earlier!), which is 37cm dia, & I think I may have over-estimated the bird's size on first sight. In relation to the size of the bath, I'd now say its length was about 25cm(?) so maybe Rosy Starling is still on! Looked very much like this image from a forum member in Cornwall in 2021 -

IMG_8199.JPG

Pink and Black Magpie

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