Two garden visitors Kent UK (1 Viewer)

[nartreb]

I do agree the markings look sparrow-like, but it wouldn't have had any trouble perching if it were a sparrow? It made two attempts within a couple of minutes and then seemingly gave up.

I hope I'm not piling on, but since nobody seems to have replied to this specifically: this clip looks to me like a sparrow (not so big, look at the length head to tail compared to the bird at the top of the feeder) that was startled by the male sparrow at lower right (which may have been hidden behind the feeder, from the flying bird's point of view, or may simply have done something aggressive in bird-speak) and so changed its mind about perching.

 

[thestillpoint]

Thanks for that. That could make sense, because on its first approach it could have been similarly startled by a robin perched on a basket near the feeder, also possibly out of sight until it got up close.

 

[stevethehydra]

I’m in the House Sparrow camp on this but can’t be sure from these images/clips. It’s worth restating the difficulty of judging size, especially from remote images - three times the size of a House Sparrow gives you a bird the size of a Carrion Crow.

This depends on what you mean by "three times the size". 3 times the length, yes. But I think (whether people realise this consciously or not) that's not how people intuitively judge size. It wouldn't be unusual for someone to describe a bulky 6ft man as "twice the size" of a slim 5ft woman - but they're certainly not thinking he's 10ft tall! And he probably is around twice the weight/volume (say 100kg vs 50kg) due to the square-cube law. In bird terms, that's about like House Sparrow vs Corn Bunting - not that I think people would call a Corn Bunting twice the size of a House Sparrow because I think for animals/objects much smaller than people the perceived size difference is likely to be less, but even for smallish birds I don't think people make "size" impressions purely based on length. I imagine most people would think of a Carrion Crow as a lot more than 3x the size of a House Sparrow, and that "3x the size of a House Sparrow" in most people's estimation would be something more in the Mistle Thrush/Turtle Dove sort of size range.

Having said all that, I am also pretty sure the bird in the video here is just another House Sparrow! I think the apparent size difference can be explained by all birds looking bigger in flight/with wings spread than perched and with everything slicked down, and also seen at a foreshortened angle.

 

[THE_FERN]

Thanks for that. For binoculars, I guess up to around £100 to start - is it possible to get reasonably decent ones at that price?

Unless absolutely terrible, some bins are better than no bins. Probably best to post a separate question to the bins forums here

 

[thestillpoint]

Thanks for the suggestion. Someone has kindly sent me a recommendation for bins.

Thank you again to everyone here for all the help, this is a really helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly place. It's a pleasure talking to you all.

 

[Redmist]

I really like the Collins Bird Guide app version too. It’s not quite as “nice” as having a real paper field guide, but more portable and convenient to have it with you all the time for a quick check. Also includes songs and calls, really useful to check something you hear and are not 100% sure of. Like the book, it’s also a bargain for what you get.

 

[ryckfour]

I really like the Collins Bird Guide app version too. It’s not quite as “nice” as having a real paper field guide, but more portable and convenient to have it with you all the time for a quick check. Also includes songs and calls, really useful to check something you hear and are not 100% sure of. Like the book, it’s also a bargain for what you get.

And it updates

 

[Butty]

And it updates

😲
We wish!

 

[THE_FERN]

😲
We wish!

(A bit like Opus...)

 

[ryckfour]

😲
We wish!

I should probably have said ‘and it has updated occasionally’