ID Request, North Devon (1 Viewer)

[Jack Dawe]

A non-birder friend who is on holiday near Bideford, north Devon sent me this phone pic to identify. She described the bird just as "orange head and speckled breast". I'm stumped. I'm thinking it's a male Chaffinch, but what's with the heavy streaking? It's not caused by tree branches and I don't see how it could be explained away by shadow. I tried enlarging the pic in Topaz Gigapixel (also attached), but there's too little data in the photo for it to help much. Any ideas?

 

[Butty]

Probably a pipit, and the camera software has done horrible things to it.

 

[Jack Dawe]

Probably a pipit, and the camera software has done horrible things to it.

Yes, you're probably right. I have seen Meadow Pipits with slightly pinkish throats before now. My correspondent adds, "I thought it was a young Robin, but it had a very speckled breast". I'm sure we can rule out Robin, but the orange/pink seems to have been real. I must admit my immediate thought was Red-throated Pipit, but that's surely far too fanciful.

 

[Georgebirds]

Long shot, but could it be a wet robin? Straight from a soaking in a bird bath or puddle, with the chest feathers all clumped together so you're seeing dark streaks from the base of the feathers showing between the paler ends.

Like this stock photo...

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTMWPXlrMmI2mRxy8scYgFPHV6YhSrFCupzMg&s

 

[THE_FERN]

I wondered about very wet male Chaffinch. Can't judge break shape but seems to have bluish cap. Certainly very wet something

 

[THE_FERN]

(so those dark streaks are feathers matting together making shadows between, rather than actual streaks)

 

[Jack Dawe]

I wondered about very wet male Chaffinch. Can't judge break shape but seems to have bluish cap. Certainly very wet something

Good call. I agree about the apparently bluish cap.

 

[Birdbrain]

Long shot, but could it be a wet robin? Straight from a soaking in a bird bath or puddle, with the chest feathers all clumped together so you're seeing dark streaks from the base of the feathers showing between the paler ends.

Like this stock photo...

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTMWPXlrMmI2mRxy8scYgFPHV6YhSrFCupzMg&s

Does look like a wet Robin with that head 🤔

 

[dantheman]

I was also in the wet camp. On the basis that the feathers appear white rather than pink or buff underneath - Robin, but could still be a Chaffinch, perhaps. At least happy that it's not an aberrant Blackburnian Warbler.

 

[Jack Dawe]

Thanks very much, everyone. Happy to go with wet Robin (or Chaffinch).

 

[KenM]

An intriguing image!
What’s the consensus….is the bird looking right, or face on, or is it looking backwards?

 

[dantheman]

An intriguing image!
What’s the consensus….is the bird looking right, or face on, or is it looking backwards?

Hmmm.

I took it to be facing right, with the bill and an eye visible. But the 'bill' continues across the face as a paler line, so maybe that isn't the real bill. The tail is also strangely curved. Probably not to worry too much.

(There is also a mini Peregrine Falcon* in the nook of the branch to its right and a touch higher up ... ;-) )


*(Not a Harpy Eagle imo)

 

[Jack Dawe]

I hadn't thought of that. What I took to be the bill could well be a branch and the bird's head could be turned to its right.

 

[KenM]

If it is looking right…it’s a very strange shaped eye imo?😮

 

[Butty]

it’s a very strange shaped eye imo?

It's a very low-quality corrupted image. Everything is very strange.

 

[KenM]

It's a very low-quality corrupted image. Everything is very strange.

👍😮