Bird ID Please...

[NickB]

Saw this beauty in the garden at lunchtime....
Grabbed the camera and got a few quick shots

ID_3a.jpg (60.25 KiB) Viewed 827 times

ID_2.jpg (56.09 KiB) Viewed 826 times

ID_1.jpg (107.14 KiB) Viewed 826 times

Apologies for poor quality - Any ideas?

I thought Snow Bunting when I initially saw it, but it was whiteish cream on top, much more yellow on the breast,with a few brownish feathers along the wing and a greyish cap.
Bottom picture gives a different view...
It sang some melodious notes before departing...
N

[Dave McCormick]

Could it be a yellowhammer? I first thought grey wagtail or yellow wagtail, but it looks more bunting like than a wagtail

[NickB]

My thoughts too - a bunting of some sort...
Come on Twitcher (s) ....any ideas?

N

[Denise]

Sorry Nick, but it looks like an escaped canary of some kind, (to me.)
I bet some poor old dear has lost it and will advertise in the local shops for it.

Denise

[NickB]

Yeah - Having gone through the obvious my final thought (accompanied by the melodic song) was a bleeding canary!
Can I add that to the species list for the garden?

N

[Denise]

Absolutely! I have a Budgie on mine.
I have a lot of wild stuff too.

Denise

[Shirley Roulston]

I'm pretty sure its a Serin, bird guides have a few photos of one.
Shirley

[Denise]

I don't think so Shirley. You don't get Serin in the UK in Feb.
Besides, the shape and size are all wrong (the jizz) and Serin have a distinct head pattern (both sexes) which Nick's bird is missing.
Good try though. It's about the closest that you can get to Canary.

Denise

[Dave McCormick]

Thats what I thought at first, before I thought wagtails or bunting, a canary. I have had three in past and one looked similar to that one, although it was more yellow and one I had was orangy, they had similar look. But seeing a Serin, it does look like it. On the RSPB website: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdgui ... /index.asp it says: Most records are in April and May, although it has been recorded in the UK in all months

[NickB]

Looking closely at the claws, it seems as though the bird has overgrown nails, perhaps more indicative of an escaped caged-bird than a wild one?
N
Canary for me; one more onto the list! I checked-out the Serin and the Siskin (male, summer) in my books but the grey head-cap doesn't fit any bunting or finch that I can see...and the lack of markings on the body rules them out too...I stand to be corrected...

[twitcher]

Hi
I agree with Denise a border Canary,
Shaun

[freeway]

100% an escaped canary...