Hi Jamie,
Thanks for your post. I would be thrilled to see love birds on my feeders! It's a shame that one had lost its plumage; poor bird must be cold in this weather. I am pretty sure that the bird I saw wasn't a love bird as it was too long and slender. I have been through the park every day since I saw the bird but have not seen it again. Fingers crossed that if I do I can get a bit closer next time!

Thanks again, Katherine

Hi Mark,
Thank you for your suggestion. I have looked through all the Australian parrots I could find online and have seen so many real stunners. Unfortunately none were anything like the colour of the bird I saw. When I say rufus red I mean a rusty red like the breast of a Robin or the back of a female red-backed shrike. It could be that I failed to find an image of a parrot this colour.. If this is the case I would be very grateful if you could point me in the right direction. This is going to bug me until I can find a possible explanation! Thanks again for your reply.

Yours, Katherine

I was sent a photo a few days ago by a friend who wanted me to identify a pair of birds not far from Bury.
He'd picked them up from his bird table one morning, they were Rosy-faced Lovebirds.
one still had it's red face and breast, the other looks to have lost almost all of the plumage from it's head.

Hi Katherine,
Your bird sounds like an escaped exotic. If you have access to an Australian field guide (or if not via internet), check out the various "Rosella" forms of Australian parrots, of which there are about 6 (according to whether or not my old field guide is still current). From what you describe the structure seems to fit as well. Aussie parrot species number a mind boggling 53 in total, and I seem to recall that there was at least one Rosella at large in Greater Manchester a few years ago?

Regards,
Mike P.

Just to say that I wasn't close enough to see the birds beak or if it had any other markings.

I was in my local Hoyles Park, Bury the other day with my dog and I saw a red bird which I can't identify. It was a bright rufus red with cream on its chest, underwing and under tail. I spied it on the ground and it was about as fat as a blackbird but longer. It flew up to a tree. The wings were slender and the tail long. It perched up a tree trunk like a woodpecker. I followed it from tree to tree and then lost sight of it. It did perch near thrushes and blackbirds, confirming the size. Does anybody have an idea of what this bird could have been? I'm totally stumped!