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House
sparrow -
Passer
domesticus - Noisy
and gregarious, these cheerful exploiters of man's
rubbish and wastefulness, have even managed to colonise
most of the world. The ultimate opportunist perhaps, but
now struggling to survive in the UK along with many
other once common birds. They are clearly declining in
both gardens and the wider countryside and their recent
declines have earned them a place on the Red List. |
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Tree
sparrow - Passer montanus
- Smaller
than a house sparrow and more active, with its tail
almost permanently cocked. It has a chestnut brown head
and nape (rather than grey), and white cheeks and collar
with a contrasting black cheek-spot. They are shyer than
house sparrows in the UK and are not associated with
man, although in continental Europe they nest in
buildings just like house sparrows. |
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Starling
- Sturnus vulgaris
- Smaller than
blackbirds, with a short tail, pointed head, triangular
wings, starlings look black at a distance but when seen
closer they are very glossy with a sheen of purples and
greens. Their flight is fast and direct and they walk
and run confidently on the ground. Noisy and gregarious,
starlings spend a lot of the year in flocks. Still one
of the commonest of garden birds, its decline elsewhere
makes it a Red List species. |
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Blue tit
- Parus caeruleus
- Its colourful
mix of blue, yellow, white and green make the blue tit
one of the most attractive resident garden birds. Almost
any garden with a peanut feeder will attract them and
they readily breed in nestboxes. In winter they form
flocks with other tit species and a garden with four or
five at a bird table at any one time, may be feeding 20
or more. |
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Blackbird -
Turdus
merula - The males live up to
their name but, confusingly, females are brown often with
spots and streaks on their breasts. The bright orange-yellow
beak and eye-ring make adult male blackbirds one of the most
striking garden birds. One of the commonest UK birds, its
mellow song is also a favourite. |
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Goldfinch - Carduelis
carduelis - A highly coloured finch with a
bright red face and yellow wing patch. Sociable, often
breeding in loose colonies, they have a delightful liquid
twittering song and call. Their long fine beaks allow them to
extract otherwise inaccessible seeds from thistles and
teasels. Increasingly they are visiting birdtables and
feeders. In winter many UK goldfinches migrate as far south as
Spain.
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Chaffinch -
Fringilla
coelebs - The chaffinch is the
UK’s second commonest breeding bird, and is arguably the
most colourful of the UK's finches. Its patterned plumage
helps it to blend in when feeding on the ground and it becomes
most obvious when it flies, revealing a flash of white on the
wings and white outer tail feathers. It does not feed openly
on bird feeders - it prefers to hop about under the bird table
or under the hedge. You’ll usually hear chaffinches before
you see them, with their loud song and varied calls. |
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Greenfinch -
Carduelis
chloris - Its twittering and
wheezing song, and flash of yellow and green as it flies, make
this finch a truly colourful character. Nesting in a garden
conifer, or feasting on black sunflower seeds, it is a popular
garden visitor, able to take advantage of food in town and
city gardens at a time when intensive agriculture has deprived
it of many weed seeds in the countryside. Although quite
sociable, they may squabble among themselves or with other
birds at the bird table. |
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Collared dove
- Streptopelia decaocto
- Distinctive with its
buffy-pink plumage and black neck collar, it is usually seen
singly or in pairs, although flocks may form where food is
plentiful. It feeds on the ground but readily perches on roofs
and wires. After rapidly spreading across Europe in the early
half of the 20th century, the collared dove is now one of our
most common birds and its monotonous cooing is a familiar
sound. |
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Great tit -
Parus
major - The largest UK tit -
green and yellow with a striking glossy black head with white
cheeks and a distinctive two-syllable song. It is a woodland
bird which has readily adapted to man-made habitats to become
a familiar garden visitor. It can be quite aggressive at a
bitdtable, fighting off smaller tits. In winter it joins with
blue tits and others to form roaming flocks which scour
gardens and countryside for food. |
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Woodpigeon -
Columba
palumbus - The UK's largest and
commonest pigeon, it is largely grey with a white neck patch
and white wing patches, clearly visible in flight. Although
shy in the countryside it can be tame and approachable in
towns and cities. Its cooing call is a familiar sound in
woodlands as is the loud clatter of its wings when it flies
away. |
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Robin -
Erithacus
rubecula - The UK's favourite
bird - with its bright red breast it is familar throughout the
year and especially at Christmas! Males and females look
identical, and young birds have no red breast and are spotted
with golden brown. Robins sing nearly all year round and
despite their cute appearance, they are aggressively
territorial and are quick to drive away intruders. They will
sing at night next to street lights. |
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Nightingale -
Luscinia
megarhynchos - Nightingales are
slightly larger than robins, with a robust, broad-tailed,
rather plain brown appearance. They are skulking and extremely
local in their distribution in the UK while in much of
southern Europe, they are common and more easily seen. The
famous song is indeed of high quality, with a fast succession
of high, low and rich notes that few other species can match. |
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Siskin - Carduelis
spinus - The siskin is a
small, lively finch, which is smaller than a greenfinch. It
has a distinctly forked tail and a long narrow bill. The male
has a streaky yellow-green body and a black crown and bib.
There are yellow patches in the wings and tail. It is mainly a
resident breeder from southern England to northern Scotland,
but is most numerous in Scotland and Wales. Many breeding
birds are residents; in winter birds arrive here also from
Europe. |
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Bullfinch -
Pyrrhula
pyrrhula - The male is
unmistakable with his bright pinkish-red breast and cheeks,
grey back, black cap and tail, and bright white rump. The
flash of the rump in flight and the sad call note are usually
the first signs of bullfinches being present. They feed
voraciously of the buds of various trees in spring and were
once a 'pest' of fruit crops. Recent declines place it on the
Red List. |
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Grey heron -
Ardea
cinerea - The largest European
heron. It can stand with neck stretched out, looking for food,
or hunch down with its neck bent over its chest. In flight it
holds its neck retracted and has large rounded wings. It is
usually solitary although several birds may feed fairly close
together. It stalks its food, often standing motionless for
some considerable time. It usually feeds close to the bank or
shore, but may wade out into shallow water. |
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Jay -
Glandarius
garrulus - Although they are
the most colourful members of the crow family, jays are
actually quite difficult to see. They are shy woodland birds,
rarely moving far from cover. The screaming call usually lets
you know a jay is about and it is usually given when a bird is
on the move, so watch for a bird flying between the trees with
its distinctive flash of white on the rump. Jays are famous
for their acorn feeding habits and in the autumn you may see
them burying acorns for retrieving later in the winter. |
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Jackdaw -
Corvus
monedula - A small black crow
with a grey neck and pale eyes. It is sociable and usually
seen in pairs or larger groups. It is quite and acrobatic
flier and flocks will often chase and tumble together in
flight. On the ground it both walks and hops. |
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Magpie -
Pica
pica - Magpies seem to be
jacks of all trades – scavengers, predators and
pest-destroyers, their challenging, almost arrogant attitude
has won them few friends. With its noisy chattering,
black-and-white plumage and long tail, there is nothing else
quite like the magpie in the UK. When seen close-up its black
plumage takes on an altogether more colourful hue with a
purplish-blue iridescent sheen to the wing feathers, and a
green gloss to the tail. Non-breeding birds will gather
together in flocks. |
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Treecreeper -
Certhia
familiaris - The treecreeper is
small, very active, bird that lives in trees. It has a long,
slender, downcurved bill. It is speckly brown above and mainly
white below. It breeds in the UK and is resident here. Birds
leave their breeding territories in autumn but most range no
further than 20 km. Its population is mainly stable. |
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