Watch the British Birdie Trivia Quiz

Nightingales look rather bland and nondescript with mostly brown plumage, although the tail has a reddish tinge. Numbers in Britain are declining in the twenty-first century with most nightingales found in the south east, in the counties around London.

You're more likely to hear a nightingale than see one, as they are renowned for their singing. They are known especially for singing at night, behaviour that is reflected in the name, - this is mainly by solitary males hoping to attract a mate.

Less common than the related pied wagtail, the grey wagtail is relatively easy to identify due to the distinctive movement of its tail when walking on the ground. The grey wagtail has yellow underparts and a yellow rump.

It is classed as a common bird of the UK, but prefers farmland and hills close to rivers rather than built up areas. The pied wagtail, by contrast, is often seen in towns and seems to have a fondness for car parks judging by the numbers I see when looking for parking space.

The photo is of the female of the species, not the more familiar male, but the darker colouring and shape should make it easy enough to identify. The male, of course, has black plumage with a yellow beak. The female has dark brown feathers, a brown beak and lighter streaks on the breast.

Blackbirds are common visitors to gardens, running across lawns and borders and turning over leaves to see what tasty morsels might be hiding underneath.

The shape and size of this bird help to identify it as a member of the tit family, although it is closer in size to the blue tit and smaller than the great tit. It has grey wings, a brownish belly and a black head. The distinguishing feature is a white patch at the back of the head which the otherwise similar marsh tit lacks.

Coal tits live in woodlands which have conifer trees, feeding on insects and spiders, but will visit gardens for food during the winter months when natural food is less available.

This colourful member of the crow family certainly stands out in a crowd with its pinkish brown body and wings which are black and white with a bright blue patch. Their normal habitat is heaths, moors and woods, but they do frequent gardens, looking for food.

Jays are particularly fond of acorns, which they gather in the autumn and bury for future use. Many of these caches are forgotten, and jays (and squirrels) can be relied on to establish new oak saplings.

The song thrush belongs to the same family as the blackbird as the body shape indicates. It is named for the beauty of its song and is widespread across the UK. Its plumage is a light brown with a pale coloured breast and belly, covered with dark spots.

If you spot a bird attacking a snail by banging it against a stone or rock, it will be a song thrush. They are the only birds known to carry out this behaviour.

The pose in the photo is typical of the nuthatch, a bird found in woodland and parks in the UK. It is a small bird, about the same size as a great tit, with a grey back, rust coloured underparts and a distinctive black stripe across the eye.

Nuthatches feed on insects, which they find hidden in tree bark, nuts and seeds. They are the only British bird which can climb down trees headfirst, thanks to the strength of their feet.

The brambling is a member of the finch family and can be found in flocks with chaffinches, a close relative. Their colouring is different, with an orange breast and a white rump. Male chaffinches have a pinkish coloured breast and females are a much duller brownish grey.

Even more distinctive is the yellow bill - chaffinches have grey coloured beaks. Bramblings live in woodland and farmland. They are seed eaters.

As you'd expect from its name, the great tit is the biggest of the tits found in the UK. Its colouring includes a black head and a black stripe running down the breast and body. The stripe is much more noticeable in male birds than females, and the wider the stripe the more prospective partners the male is able to attract.

Although their habitat is woodland and parks, great tits are well aware that gardens provide easy pickings and will readily visit your home if you put out fats, seeds and mealworms. They tend to bully their smaller relatives to get the best morsels too.

I have to state the obvious here and tell you that this small bird, about the same size as the smaller tits, is named for its habit of creeping around tree trunks while looking for insects. They climb in a spiral, from the bottom to the top, to cover all parts of the tree trunk. The curved beak enables them to poke into small crevices to find their next meal.

The birds have brown feathers, mottled with shades of light and dark brown, with white underparts. Their colouring makes them hard to spot since they blend in so well with the tree's bark. They can also disappear into crevices due to their size. Once they reach the top of one tree, they fly to the base of the next tree to work their way up another trunk.