Your Questions

Send all your birding questions to birdwatching@bauermedia.co.uk and our experts will give you the answers

Please ID this bird

QCan you identify this bird, please? I saw it in Cambodia and thought it was a sparrow, but then it opened its tail. Charlotte Potter

AYour initial identification as a sparrow was correct, Charlotte; this is indeed a sparrow. But, perhaps not the first sparrow that comes to mind when people hear the word. This bird is a Tree Sparrow. Tree Sparrows may be scarce and declining in the UK, but they have a massive Eurasian distribution, spreading across Asia and to Japan; and covering South-east Asia, where House Sparrows are absent. Indeed, when Mao Zedung introduced the ‘Four Pests’ campaign in 1958, the unfortunate Tree Sparrow was named as one of the ‘pests’ and exterminated in massive numbers. The brown crown, white collar, and back cheek spot are all good ID features. And the spread tail is just part of sparrow display!

Did I see a rare diver?

QI am a little behind on my reading but was just enjoying a catch-up of the January edition of the magazine and read about a rare sighting off the coast of north-east Kent. I had identified this bird as a loon and now wonder if it is actually the White-billed Diver mentioned in

the rare sightings section of your magazine. Can you please help? Jacqui Double

AFirstly, Jacqui, you were quite right to identify this bird as a loon, or a diver, as we usually call them in the UK (loon is the preferred North American term). However, the bird in your photograph is a Red-throated Diver, not the much rarer White-billed Diver. The two species, though very different in size (White-billed Divers are even bigger than Great Northerns and Red-throateds are the smallest divers), share a few features which could cause confusion, particularly in winter plumage (like this bird). Both swim with the bill tilted up (unlike other divers), and look to have ‘upturned’ bills; and both have pale faces, with the eye ‘surrounded’ by whitish feathering. However, Red-throated Divers have much finer (grey) bills and a more delicate build (White-billed are almost angular in head shape); and White-billed Divers, like Great Northerns have a distinct half-collar at the base of the neck.

What is this egg?

QCan you tell me what egg this is? I found it this morning in the Lee Valley Country Park. Alison Caw

AIdentification of egg shells is not one of our fortes, but we will have a go. The egg in your photograph appears to be white (with dirt/soil staining) and a decent size. It is most likely a pigeon, probably a Woodpigeon. This would correspond with the time of year, as Woodpigeons can be very early breeders (and very late ones, for that matter).

Is this a Goshawk?

QI hope you can clarify this ID for me, when I saw it

I thought it was ‘just’ a Sparrowhawk but under closer photo inspection, wondered if it is. Mainly the streaking (just visible), but the tail length, body thickness, and visibility of the tarsi also made me think it could be Goshawk? Barry Turner

AThis is a perennial identification challenge for many birdwatchers: Sparrowhawk vs Goshawk. As far as we can see, your bird is a Sparrowhawk. Goshawks of all ages and both sexes, are large, bulky birds with ‘small’ heads which project further than Sparrowhawks’ heads. The apparent streaking is not the typical heavy black ‘blobby’ streaking on juvenile Goshawk. The structure of your bird and the square tail all point to this being a Sparrowhawk to our eyes.