Mystery bird

I got a call at work yesterday from Chris Lane. He had found a small passerine at Morton Bagot and couldn't identify it. He had concluded it was probably an escape, but was feeling a bit uneasy about whether he could rule out Bobolink or Yellow-breasted Bunting. It sounded too small for those, only Whinchat-sized, but I was intrigued enough to go there this morning.

I reached the pool and noticed some Yellowhammers in the hedge. As I approached them, a Whinchat-like bird popped up. Then it turned its head to reveal a seed-eaters bill. This must be it. I took some shots.

Whatever it is, it looked in a clean plumage. The white wing bar reminded me of Yellow-breasted Bunting, but it really was Whinchat-sized.

You can get an idea of its size by this comparison with a Greenfinch. In flight, its tail was ridiculously short, like a Fan-tailed Warbler's tail, and it gave a sharp "zick" call in flight. It flew off with the Yellowhammer flock, so I texted Chris and Jon that it was still here, and still a mystery.

A quick look at the flash produced a record count of 185 Canada Geese, plus 90 Greylag Geese, 28 Teal, six Snipe, and three Green Sandpipers.

The bushes contained Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, two Blackcaps, and five Chiffchaffs, so summer is still hanging on.

Chris arrived, and after a while we saw the bird again, but my brief view through his scope only confrmed that the breast was unstreaked. It then flew off again before Jon arrived and I had to leave.

If anybody has any idea of what this bird is, I'll be pleased to hear from them.

Too late: We think we've sussed it. After ploughing through pages and pages of Internet pictures I came across a good match. The bird is a Yellow-crowned Weaver (aka Yellow-crowned Bishop). It's flown all the way from Africa a cage in Redditch.

Whilst I was researching it, Jon and Chris were joined by Matt Griffiths, and a series of texts reached me through the late morning. Two Hobbies showing well. Nice. A Stonechat, first of the autumn, very nice. A cream crown Marsh Harrier over at 1.00pm. Oh good grief. I made a pathetic dash back (in case it returned), and stood around until Jon and Chris left, and it was therefore safe for me to go home!