Baby Bird ID

I caught this little babe fluttering around the kitchen this morning and then had to rescue it from Calvos. It calmed down in my hand and having walked around the garden several times with three four-legged furry critters in tow, I finally got away from them and the babe flew into the orchard. It was quite a chatty little thing. Can someone tell me what it is, please?





Sorry for the quality of the photo but it was difficult holding the bird and taking the photo at the same time (with a bulky Fuji Finepix) and so the cropped one is not very clear.

Thank you in advance.

 

Thank you so much for your input and taking the time to respond, dear Woo, but I don't think it is either having looked at your links. Other than the white on the chest, the remainder was greyish.

We have so many pretty birds here because of the orchards, lately there have been many Chiffchaffs. The Dawn Chorus is unbelieveable! after the Little Owls have quietened down ...

 

Hi Victoria,I also thought at first a Zebra Finch but the red ring round the eye doesn't seem to match.

I am wondering if you have found yourself a Migrant bird that may have been blown off course and it has landed exhausted in your garden so to speak.

I am afraid I don't know an awful lot about birds in Portugal but if you can find a box to put it in with some millet{like the millet sprays they feed budgerigars on}with that sort of beak it will at least get some food down it,plus it might need a drink of water if your weather is hot at the moment.

Are you having to walk around with it in your hand as in the photo?

PS,Sorry Victoria,just reraed your first post and you said it was a baby bird so it must be from a nest close to where you live but as I said I don't know about birds from Portugal and the beak is the sort you would find on Zebra Finches.I even Googled Pekin Robin but the ones on there didn't have the red eye ring.

Hope you manage to get it identified and if you do are you going to keep it?

 

Hello Kandy and thank you so much for your input .. I had hoped you would come along and find this thread as I know you are excellent with your knowledge and identification of birds.

And Woo, my dear friend, thank you for another suggestion.

In the meantime, I put a 'call out' to an expat here on one of the forums whom I know is a bird expert and photographer and he has come to my rescue ...

"Hello Victoria,

Your bird is a Common Waxbill, an "introduced" cagebird from India which escaped many years ago and has now set up a sustainable breeding population in Portugal.




Best wishes,

Colin

P.S. The sexes and age of the the birds can be very confusing."

I must say, there was some red on the belly but I didn't like to say because I thought it may have been an injury from where Calvos had caught it ... thankfully it appears it is normal ....

PS This link shows it is now common here in Portugal .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Waxbill

 

Hi Victoria,

What a lovely charming little bird.:yess: He looks just like a little Highwayman with that red stripe across the eye and it is nice to get a good identification of him.Just goes to show what beautiful birds there are living in the world especially in your part of the world and we get excited over Waxwings when they get here

Are you going to keep it or try to let it go? because if it can't fly very well it might get nobbled again by the cats:gaagh:

 

Hello Kandy. Yes, this Colin takes wonderful photographs of wildlife here (not just birds) and I agree with you that they look like little Hightwaymen ..

I let the little chappie fly into the orchard as soon as he calmed down yesterday. I would never have a captive bird ... to me they should be allowed to fly free and as these beauties have apparently colonised here, hopefully I will have plenty of opportunity to see them around the house (hopefully not IN the house again). I am just pleased I was able to rescue him and let him go find his family ... :yess:

 

Originally I thought it a GoldFinch . Beautiful little chap w

 

What a pretty little darling, Sis, and glad you managed to rescue it from my nephew, bless his little heart. xx