Fun Trivia » Animals » Wild Birds » Wild Birds UK

House sparrows usually live on cultivated land near houses and parks. They are very sociable birds and often feed in large flocks. They are widespread throughout most of Britain. The house sparrows in my garden particularly enjoy eating peanuts from the bird feeders. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, Goldfinch

The mallard (scientific name Anas platyrhynchos) is one of the most familiar ducks seen on the river. The females are very plain in comparison to the males. The females are mainly brown whereas the males have a shiny green head with a white ring around their necks. It is the female that makes the familiar "quack" noises while the male makes a rasping sound for their call. Most mallard ducks spend the majority of their days in the water. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

Teal, Widgeon, Gadwell

The great auk is not just extinct in the British Isles: the last known breeding pair was killed off Iceland in the 1840s with only one likely subsequent sighting, a decade later, of a lone bird.

The ease with which the birds could be caught and killed and high demand for their down and eggs were all factors in their extinction.
Difficulty: Easy.

 

Little Auk, Black Tern, Great Bustard

The first song escapes from the common blackbird at the end of the January and the beginning of February. The male uses his song to attract the female. When the female is ready to mate with the male, she will raise her head and tail to let the male know she is ready. Difficulty: Hard.

 

April to early May, March to early April , August to early September

These noisy little finches never arrive alone. The females lack the red cheeks but do have the flash on the wings. The fewest number in my photographs so far is three. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Robin, Starling, House sparrow

Mainly restricted to the Orkney and Shetland islands, arctic skuas can be seen chasing terns aggressively to try and make them drop their food. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Manx shearwater, roseate tern, great auk

Siskins (Carduelis spinus) can look rather like small greenfinches but are more delicately marked. Their breeding range in Britain increased greatly during the latter half of the twentieth century. Other finches found in Britain, whose names do not include the suffix 'finch', include linnet, twite, redpoll and brambling. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Kinglet, Bunting, Chat

Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) is a very common species found wherever there are bushes and high vegetation. Its domed nest is built low down, usually in a bush or tree and has a side entrance.
Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) was the architect of St Paul's Cathedral in London. The domed roof of the cathedral is a notable feature of the city's skyline. Difficulty: Average.

 

Blackbird, Robin, Sparrow

My parents always used the name peewit for lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) and it was a long time before I realised that lapwing was the 'proper' name. Peewit is an onomatopeic interpretation of the lapwing's piping call. Green plover is often given in books as another alternative for lapwing but I have never heard it used. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Curlew, Whimbrel, Knot

With their black and white plumage, magpies are highly conspicuous birds. Their habit of following one another when flying between trees etc has led to the children's' counting rhyme, "One for sorrow, two for joy...".
Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) is another member of the crow family.
Coot (Fulica atra) is a black water bird with a distinctive white shield above its beak.
Starling (Sternus vulgaris) is a speckled bird often seen in gardens. Difficulty: Average.

 

Jackdaw, Starling, Coot

Merlins are mostly found on open moorland and are a ground-nesting species. They feed mainly on small birds such as meadow pipits which they catch in mid-air. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Hawks, Eagles, Harriers

The turnstone winters along Britain's shores, before returning to the Arctic to breed in the summer. Difficulty: Hard.

 

dotterel, oystercatcher, sanderling

Starlings do, of course, also nest in the country, and there are reports of tree branches breaking due to the sheer weight of the arriving birds. Difficulty: Hard.

 

House Sparrows, Feral Pigeons, Siskins

Magpies are widespread throughout Britain and their population has increased considerably in urban areas. They are a member of the crow family, Corvidae. They are predatory birds and will often take eggs and baby birds from other species' nests. They are very intelligent birds and have a reputation for being attracted to bright shiny objects such as aluminium foil. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

Jay, Jackdaw, Hooded Crow

The teal is smaller than the mallard and the male has very distinctive colouring whereas the female resembles a smaller, more delicate, female mallard. The collective name for teals is a "spring" which refers to their manner of taking off from the water in an almost vertical way and then corkscrewing this way and that in flight. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Mallard , Garganey, Gadwell

The Kentish plover prefers sandy areas and is rarely found near fresh water. It is migratory, wintering in the tropics.

The other three birds are all inventions. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Devon Dipper, British Tern, Norfolk Coot

The common blackbird is one of the true thrushes. There are sixty-five species of true thrushes. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Cardinal, Starling, Crow

These happy little birds usually appear in groups, so getting photographs of an individual was rather difficult. Once very common in the UK, their population decline has become a cause for concern. Difficulty: Average.

 

Robin, Goldfinch, Starling

Stifftails are part of the Oxyurinae subfamily of ducks. Their name derives from the noticeable cocked angle of their tails when swimming on the surface. This grouping contains around five species (there is some taxonomic dispute over the status of some species/sub-species) of which the ruddy duck is probably the most numerous. Other members of the family include the blue-billed duck (Oxyura australis) found only in Australia; the white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala) found in parts of Africa and southern Europe; the maccoa duck (Oxyura maccoa) found in southern Africa and the Argentine Blue-bill (Oxyura vittata) found in South America.
Sawbills are another family of diving ducks. Members of this family found in Britain include the smew (Mergellus albellus), the goosander (Mergus meganser) and the red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator).
The goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) is another diving duck found in Britain. The closely related Barrow's goldeneye (Bucephala islandica) is found mostly in Iceland.
Many thousands of pochard (Aythya ferina) over-winter in Britain. They are often to be found in the company of the closely related tufted duck (Aythya fuligula). Difficulty: Hard.

 

Sawbill, Goldeneye, Pochard

While the firecrest is classed as a native species, most of the population migrate northwards from mainland Europe in summer. Due to the small population of approximately 250 breeding pairs it is on the RSPB Amber List. Difficulty: Easy.

 

wren, house sparrow, grasshopper warbler

The moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) belong to the Rallidae family which includes rails, crakes and gallinules. Another common British member of this family is the coot. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Duck, Grebe, Goose

Swifts (Apus apus) are amongst the last summer visitors to arrive in Britain, usually arriving in early May. They spend most of their lives in the air and are amongst the fastest birds in the world in level flight.
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was an Irish writer and satirist whose best-known work is probably "Gulliver's Travels". Difficulty: Average.

 

Swallow, Cuckoo, Wheatear

The term hedge-sparrow is very commonly used for dunnock (Prunella modularis) even though it is not closely related to sparrows. It belongs to a family called accentors. The bill shape is diagnostic; sparrows have stout beaks for cracking seeds etc, dunnocks are insectivorous and have thin, pointed beaks. I have also heard dunnocks being called 'hedgebugs'. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Wren, Robin, Starling

"...And a partridge in a pear tree".
Grey partridge was once the most common partridge found in Britain but its numbers have declined. Red-legged partridge, Alectoris rufa, is now the most common.
Black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) is an uncommon game bird.
Black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) is a bird which, in Britain, is sometimes found in city centres.
Golden plover (Pluvalis apricaria) is a beautiful member of the wader family. Difficulty: Very Easy.

 

Black grouse, Black redstart, Golden plover

Mallards are found in most places where there is water. Many dabbling duck females look remarkably similar, especially from a distance, the female mallard's purple speculum is diagnostic. Teal is smaller than mallard with a small green speculum; shoveler has an odd shaped bill and also has a green speculum; gadwall has a very noticeable white speculum. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler

Whitethroat is a summer visitor belonging to the warbler family. It feeds mainly on insects and other small creatures. Gannet, razorbill and guillemot are all cliff-nesting birds and all feed mainly on fish. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Gannet, Razorbill, Guillemot

It is the male of the species which gives the species its name of blackcap. The blackcap is one of the only species of warblers to show differences in plumage between the sexes. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Jet-black, Sky-blue, Snow-white

The Dartford warbler has seen its numbers in the UK decline markedly in recent years, and is now mainly confined to Hampshire and Dorset. Difficulty: Hard.

 

garden warbler, sedge warbler, grasshopper warbler

The swift was once known as the 'devil bird' due to the call which can be described as a scream. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Swallow, House Martin, Skylark

Blue tits are regular visitors to my garden and enjoy feeding on peanuts and sunflower seeds from the bird table. They are very acrobatic and are often seen hanging upside down while feeding from the bird feeder. My neighbour has often had them nesting in her nesting boxes. Difficulty: Easy.

 

House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Robin

Shelducks are big, colourful ducks which are bigger than a mallard but slightly smaller than a goose. Both sexes have dark green heads and necks, a chestnut breastband and a red beak although the male is larger and brighter than the female and has a pronounced knob at the base of the bill. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Shoveler, Pintail, Mallard

A common female blackbird lays four to five eggs that are colored bluish green. The egg is six percent shell and weighs about seven grams. The parents feed the babies until they are three weeks old. Difficulty: Easy.

 

2 eggs, 1 egg, 6 to 8 eggs

Although named the "Egyptian" goose, these birds are most commonly found in East and South East Africa. I was only able to identify them once I had got my photographs. The geese love the soggy ground in the field just outside my back door. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Kenyan teal, Congo duck, South African sparrow

The male ruddy duck has a bright chestnut body, black crown and white cheeks. At all times the male ruddy duck has a blue bill but this is most noticeable during the breeding season. The female is mostly brown with a dark brown bill. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Red, Yellow, Black

The greenfinch species name "chloris" is from the Greek for green and green it is....very green. These birds form large flocks on farmland outside of the breeding season. Difficulty: Hard.

 

green woodpecker, blue tit, blackcap

Blackbirds (Turdus merula) are found in a wide range of habitats, from city centres to mountainous regions. The female looks more typically thrush-like than does the male. Other thrushes which can be seen in Britain include the winter visitors fieldfare and redwing. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Starling, Wren, Sparrow

In Scotland, hooded crows (Corvus corone corvix) are often called hoodies and carrion crows (Corvus corone corone) are corbies, but I have also heard ravens (Corvus corax) and rooks (Corvus frugilegus) being called corbies so it is used more as a generic name for birds of the crow family rather than a specific name. Difficulty: Average.

 

Ducks, Finches, Owls

There are several species of wren found in North America but only one in Britain. I never cease to be amazed at how powerful the wren's song is, for a small bird it carries an awful long way.
Robin (Erithacus rubecula) is one of Britain's best known birds.
Dunnock (Prunella modularis) is a small brown bird and Britain's only member of the accentor family.
Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus) is an extremely common pigeon. Difficulty: Easy.

 

Robin, Dunnock, Woodpigeon

In most species of warbler found in Britain, the sexes are similar. Blackcap is one of the few exceptions: only the male has the black cap, whilst that of the female is a reddish- brown. Difficulty: Hard.

 

Whitethroat, Willow warbler, Grasshopper warbler

Buzzards were once mainly confined to the north and west of Britain; happily during the late 20th and early 21st century they spread their range across nearly all parts of the UK. In 2006 buzzards were the most numerous bird of prey in the country. They are just great to watch as they climb the thermals in search of food; rabbits are their main prey. Buteo buteo or as I call them beautiful, beautiful! Difficulty: Hard.

 

Sparrowhawk, Marsh harrier, Peregrine