Robin Rundle
New member
Hello everyone!
I would appreciate your ideas on the bird described below. Is it an escaped African Weaver bird, as someone has suggested?
Unidentified Bird Seen in Manche (50) Normandy France on Saturday 4th September.
The bird was in a Tamarisk hedge around a car-park at Goury, which is at Cap de la Hague, 25 metres from the pebble beach and the cove which looks onto the lighthouse at this point, situated at the North-West extremity of the Cherbourg peninsula, about 10 miles from Alderney. My attention was drawn by the loud insistent call like a wader, "heep, heep, heep" or "houip, houip houip ". We observed it from 08h30 to 09h00 from 5 or 6 metres.
To start with the bird remained hidden, then perched on the top branch of the bush to dry its plumage as it had apparently taken a bath.
The first impression was of a yellow bird, about the size of a Pipit or Yellow Hammer, but with a large beak, like the pictures of a Blue Chaffinch in the Collins Guide. The eyes were red-orange, the heavy beak grey-brown, and without a hooked point. The throat was bright yellow like the Melodious Warbler shading down to a pale grey-beige at the base of the belly. The bird had an upright posture, like a Melodious warbler, perched on the top branch of the bush.
I didn’t see the colours of the head clearly, but absence of comment means I saw nothing distinctive. I think the crown was grey-beige, and that there was a dark brown eye-stripe , but there was no mask. The bird’s feathers were wet, which obscured clear observation of the colours. Because of this dampness, there was a vertical crease or hollow from the breast to the stomach. The back was mat beige-pale grey, and there were very definite markings on the primaries and secondaries which were dark brown and edged with bright yellow, like a Siskin. The tail seemed of normal length, of the same colours as the primaries and secondaries, and slightly notched like a greenfinch’s
The legs were clearly seen, pale pink/orange like a meadow pipit’s.
It doesn’t correspond to the photos I’ve found on the Web of the red-eyed Vireo or the Yellow-bellied Vireo.
After looking on the Web I wonder if it could be a Tanager? The beak and general jizz seem to match.
And after all that, could it be an escaped cage bird? At least two North American species were observed in the British Isles the same weekend!
I would be grateful for any help you can give me.
I would appreciate your ideas on the bird described below. Is it an escaped African Weaver bird, as someone has suggested?
Unidentified Bird Seen in Manche (50) Normandy France on Saturday 4th September.
The bird was in a Tamarisk hedge around a car-park at Goury, which is at Cap de la Hague, 25 metres from the pebble beach and the cove which looks onto the lighthouse at this point, situated at the North-West extremity of the Cherbourg peninsula, about 10 miles from Alderney. My attention was drawn by the loud insistent call like a wader, "heep, heep, heep" or "houip, houip houip ". We observed it from 08h30 to 09h00 from 5 or 6 metres.
To start with the bird remained hidden, then perched on the top branch of the bush to dry its plumage as it had apparently taken a bath.
The first impression was of a yellow bird, about the size of a Pipit or Yellow Hammer, but with a large beak, like the pictures of a Blue Chaffinch in the Collins Guide. The eyes were red-orange, the heavy beak grey-brown, and without a hooked point. The throat was bright yellow like the Melodious Warbler shading down to a pale grey-beige at the base of the belly. The bird had an upright posture, like a Melodious warbler, perched on the top branch of the bush.
I didn’t see the colours of the head clearly, but absence of comment means I saw nothing distinctive. I think the crown was grey-beige, and that there was a dark brown eye-stripe , but there was no mask. The bird’s feathers were wet, which obscured clear observation of the colours. Because of this dampness, there was a vertical crease or hollow from the breast to the stomach. The back was mat beige-pale grey, and there were very definite markings on the primaries and secondaries which were dark brown and edged with bright yellow, like a Siskin. The tail seemed of normal length, of the same colours as the primaries and secondaries, and slightly notched like a greenfinch’s
The legs were clearly seen, pale pink/orange like a meadow pipit’s.
It doesn’t correspond to the photos I’ve found on the Web of the red-eyed Vireo or the Yellow-bellied Vireo.
After looking on the Web I wonder if it could be a Tanager? The beak and general jizz seem to match.
And after all that, could it be an escaped cage bird? At least two North American species were observed in the British Isles the same weekend!
I would be grateful for any help you can give me.
