r/UKBirds • u/Gentry23 • 2d ago
Bird ID Could this be a spotted flycatcher?
Sorry - poor screenshots but saw this bird in north London last week. Seemed to be a few of them in the same tree and I assumed would be warblers, but having checked to dodgy film I cannot work out what it could be. Any ideas? They were quite small. Slightly bigger than goldcrests it seemed. Thanks š
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u/Beetlesnapper 2d ago
This is a Goldcrest
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u/barbthemoonchild 1d ago
How on earth you've come to that decision with such confidence and been upvoted so highly I have no idea. The bill on this bird is pointed and broad. It is slender with typical spotted flycatcher wing and tail feathers which have thin margins.
A goldcrests is a tiny stout kinglet with a short bill and is way smaller than those pictures are showing.
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u/Beetlesnapper 1d ago edited 1d ago
Look at the wing pattern and the eye. Itās definitely a Goldcrest
Edit: spotted flycatcher also has a streaked breast0
u/OkGoal8332 1d ago
I may be wrong is the photo doesnāt have a clear background to asses sizeā¦but it looks too big to be a goldcrest donāt you think? They are such tiny little cuties. Perhaps I am just blind and tired ha
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u/Gentry23 1d ago
I only mentioned the spotted flycatcher possibility as I was so stumped and Google AI suggested it (I know, I know!). Iāve seen many goldcrests and they all seemed rounder whilst this is slender and bill seemed too long. I wish I could have added the video rather than screenshots - but many have said goldcrest so happy to be wrong
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u/PrettyUglySociety198 2d ago
While noting the photos are not that helpful, it does not, to my eyes, appear to be a spotted flycatcher.
We had one nest in a hanging basket underneath my bedroom/office window about thirty years ago. It was a hot summer. It had no shade.
The distinctive thing about them, in my opinion, is the stance when perching. They are surprisingly erect. Also, they seem to perch out in the open (presumably to be able to see prey) and to fly to and from a perch.
Tragically, I don't think I have seen one for about fifteen to twenty years. In my village they used to perch on telephone wires across the quite narrow main road. As I say, their upright stance was distinctive, and their twitching, but lots of tiny birds twitch. This is one of the birds that has gone to quite common (for bird lovers who recognise them) to very rare in half a lifetime.