Topic: (warning) dead (decapitated) bird ID please

[mat]

Hi.  Out walking today in North Yorkshire, we came across this bird head on a farm track, looked as though something had only just killed it... no feathers anywhere, just this clean bird head.  This is not near any wading teritory, though there are steams.  Anyone tell me what this bird was?  Sad ending for it.

Thanks
mat

[grotbag]

looks like a snipe to me  http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/snipe/index.asp

[hippydave]

yer that looks like a snipe the beak looks a tab short for it to be a woodcock

[greenscrump]

sad, but at least quick  :(

[mat]

Thanks Guys.  The only thing that looks "wrong" to me for a snipe is the colour of the beak... Can snipe beaks be pink?

Yes, hopefully it was very quick

[littlebabybird]

hi Mat sorry to disagree with the others but i think its a woodcock,  did you get another image of it at all?
do the stripes go over the  head or are there bars on the back of the neck?

lbb

[mat]

Umm, yes lbb, looking at photos now in a bird book, it does look a bit more like a woodcock... sorry we didn;t get any more photos, I had never seen anything like this around here before and other half took photo to help ID it.  didn;t think to take one of the top of the head too  ::)

[Robert_Brenchley]

Snipe family. A falcon will often rip its prey's head off in the strike, so that could be it.

[caroline7758]

Walked out thefront doorto see a pheasant's head in the same state a few days ago. I suspected a cat, but maybe it could have been a bird of prey?

[thifasmom]

hi Mat sorry to disagree with the others but i think its a woodcock,  did you get another image of it at all?
do the stripes go over the head or are there bars on the back of the neck?

lbb

I'm inclined to agree with LLB as well i second woodcock, beak colour and the eye stripe does it for me.

Walked out thefront doorto see a pheasant's head in the same state a few days ago. I suspected a cat, but maybe it could have been a bird of prey?

what grizzly :-X finds you people make, most i ever get are a mass of feathers.

[Bjerreby]

Because of the black markings through and below the eyes I think it is a snipe.

[Barnowl]

yer that looks like a snipe the beak looks a tab short for it to be a woodcock

My initial reaction was to go for woodcock. Obviously a woodcock is a much bigger bird, but isn't a snipe's beak a bit longer in relation to its skull size than that of a woodcock?

[pippy]

Snipe are a marsh bird - often seen around the edges of lakes and culverts. 

Woodcock tend to inhabit older forests with scrubland areas.  You may have heard the old country phase "to hear the woodcock roding" - basically this refers to when they fly at night and call with a strange barking screech.  They are nocturnal.  Woodcock are often disturbed by dogs as they nest on the ground. It looks like a woodcock to me, but I can't be sure.  What is the local environs like?

[mat]

Snipe are a marsh bird - often seen around the edges of lakes and culverts. 

Woodcock tend to inhabit older forests with scrubland areas.  You may have heard the old country phase "to hear the woodcock roding" - basically this refers to when they fly at night and call with a strange barking screech.  They are nocturnal.  Woodcock are often disturbed by dogs as they nest on the ground. It looks like a woodcock to me, but I can't be sure.  What is the local environs like?

It is rolling hills, a lot of old woodland, there are several local ponds and lakes, streams, bogs, large rush areas, grassland.  Nice locality actually!  Where the head was though was on a farm track near a stream, however a bird of prey could have "got it" whilst in flight, hence why no feathers around about... not thought of that option... certainly explains why it was such a clean kill...

yes, it was a bit grizzly, but bizarre as so clean.  There are birds of prey, but not frequent.  Must be a Yorkshire Bird Ripper... as this is North Yorkshire like Carolines Pheasant!

mat

[Robert_Brenchley]

I spotted a woodcock on the allotments over the winter, nowhere near any marsh or open water. You wouldn't see a snipe there. With the stripes above the eye, it really has to be a snipe, and if it was killed in flight, then the location isn't particularly significant.