Bird - Brussels city centre (1 Viewer)

[Flycatcher 123]

I saw these birds in Brussels in early march...
can anyone help with the identification of the following species.
No.1 - I have no clue what this is... not a peregrine or a pigeon, the main species I saw here.

 

[Flycatcher 123]

No.2 - Starling size

 

[Flycatcher 123]

No.3 - Probably a corvid, but with a white patch.

 

[Flycatcher 123]

No.4 - Goshawk, Sparrowhawk or cormorant

 

[Alexander Stöhr]

Hello,

no offense you know, but low resolution and heavy artefacts (mobile pictures?) makes assesment difficult, at least for me.
Do you have more pictures, that could well help to reduce this?

Anyway, my gut feeling:
1. Again, no offense and when you excluded a Dove in the field than it wasnt one. (but my gut feeling was Feral Pigeon) or a pitfal picture of a Common Buzzard?

2. Starling, with the help that you said it was Starling sized (yes ...). The right upright singing posture looks spot on.

3. ? Maybe a Feral Pigeon (tail seems not full enough for a Wood Pigeon)

4. Cormorant. One of those pictures, where its not advisable to look too long. Again, I hope that this doesnt come out rude or as an offense. But I tried to find explanations for my impressions.

And I hope that more pictures confirm my gut feelings!

 

[Flycatcher 123]

The only reason I excluded a pigeon for 1 was because of the hooked beak.
I put 1 in merlin, and it came up with Red Footed Falcon!
Yes, you are right, they were kind of record shots via the phone!

My only point with the photo 1, 2 and 3 is that,
Photo 1 When it flew (I didn't manage a photo) it looked a bit like a falcon.
Photo 2 It's red
Photo 3 I'm pretty confident it is a corvid, by the way it flew - not a pigeon. Gliding wingbeats unlike a pigeon, and also larger. Maybe a leucisitic carrion crow?

 

[Flycatcher 123]

Unfortunately, I don't have more photos.

 

[THE_FERN]

Maybe a leucisitic carrion crow?

I don't see a certain white patch here, more likely a lighting effect causing a highlight.

The stance of 1 is a little odd, but I don't think you can exclude sparrowhawk as a possibility

 

[Butty]

Interesting - and instructive - selection of photos here, or rather interesting selection photo-artifacts: hooked bill, red bird, white wing-patch... because I don't believe that any of those features exist in reality.

 

[Flycatcher 123]

Perhaps the red colouring is an effect of taking the first picture through a window?

 

[stevethehydra]

I think the only certain one is the cormorant! But...

- #1 looks like a feral pigeon to me. I think the apparent raptor bill in the second photo is caused by head angle and photo artefacts. Also I can half convince myself that I can see the "checkerboard" pattern in the upper wings.

- #2 could be a female Redstart sp?

- #3 looks vaguely corvid-like. I can't make out the "white patch", but if you saw white in the wings, it's fairly common for urban Carrion Crows to have white or partly white wing feathers due to nutritional issues.

 

[Flycatcher 123]

Hmm... I believe there have been quite a few common redstart and black redstart sightings here recently.

 

[Southern Viking]

2 looks like a Starling, so if was Starling-sized that's surely the answer?

 

[Flycatcher 123]

True!