In article ,
David Hill wrote:

I went outside just now and spooked a couple of birds that were on the
track on the other side of the car.
They got up and flew off low and making a metallic squawking alarm cry.
They were dark grey and on one there was a deep red tail. My first
thought was African grey parrots but the grey was slate Gray.

Try this and see what you come up with.....
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/bird...fier/form.aspx

Exactly what you would expect from bird-brained twitchers!
Useless.

I am not an ornithologist, but this rang a bell, and the colour
you describe is a perfect match for the red-footed falcon.

Thanks Nick, You may just have cracked it though a winter sighting is
rare in the UK
This picture is very close in colour, and the size is right.
David
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...lectedIndex=49

Weird things do happen. Another possibility is that they are escapes
or releases. They are occasionally used in falconry, for example,
and escapes from that are not rare.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.