I think I may be in the wrong forum and will therefore apologise now. The problem is that for the last two days I have had a bird visiting my feeders that I have never seen before and that I can't identify. It is very similar to a House Finch. Looking at the photos of the one in Cornwall in 2010 the orange colour is far more pronounced - almost dayglo - and is very easy to spot. Its back is medium brown with the feathers outlined in dark brown. Its underside is also a very dark brown. It has the medium brown eye patches extending to the beak as per the cornish example. Its beak is large, presumably for cracking seeds and the top of its beak merges into the top of its head. You could say it had a flat head. I would welcome any help as to who I should contact.

Hi Michael - no need to apologise. First things first - where in the world are you? I'm assuming UK? Sorry, but we have folks from everywhere!

Difficult to say much more on the description so far. Could be another House Finch, they do vary in intensity and colour somewhat (can be related to diet).

If it's coming to a feeder then best thing to do is get a photo if you can.

Cheers

Andy

Ah, OK - you're in Somerset. I forgot I could tell that from your profile!

Anyway, as I say, see if you can get a photo - you can attach one to a forum post

Cheers

Andy

I live in the south west UK in the Mendip Hills about 5 miles west of Frome and 12 miles south of Bath. I have a friend who is coming to take photots in the morning. The bird is now becoming a regular visitor. I'm guessing it has a nest in the nearby woods. Thank you for your help.

I live in the south west UK in the Mendip Hills about 5 miles west of Frome and 12 miles south of Bath. I have a friend who is coming to take photots in the morning. The bird is now becoming a regular visitor. I'm guessing it has a nest in the nearby woods. Thank you for your help.

This bird is now a regular visitor to my feeder. Please excuse the quality of the photot but it was taken with my 7.1mp Canon through one side of my binoculars. I hope it's enough for an identification.

Looks like it could be a Weaver bird but not sure which one. Almost certain to be an escaped aviary bird.

I agree it is an escaped weaver - it looks to be one of the red bishops, though I can't be sure which one. It's probably a young male, which might explain why it doesn't look quite like any of the illustrations in my African field guides.