All birds

DETAILS

The following list shows all birds known to the Twitcherz website. These include all birds occurring in Britain as detailed by the RSPB and any other birds spotted in Britain by any Twitcher.

Rank = A unit of the commonality of the species relative to all other species, ranking 1 being the most common species, 2 the second most common species and so on. Rankings are calculated using the population of the species at the height of the year.
Population = The estimated population of the species at the height of the year as published by the RSPB in 2016. So wintering population is given for winter migrants, summer populations for summer migrants.

Rank		Bird	Family	Population (at most)	All twitcher sightings
	Total	2024
1		Wren Troglodytes troglodytes	Wrens	8,600,000 territories	45	0
The wren is a tiny brown bird, although it is heavier, less slim, than the even smaller goldcrest. It is dumpy, almost rounded, with a fine bill, quite long legs and toes, very short round wings and a short, narrow tail which is sometimes cocked up vertically. For such a small bird it has a remarkably loud voice. It is the commonest UK breeding bird, although it suffers declines during prolonged, severely cold winters.
2		Blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus	Tits	15 million birds	54	3
A colourful mix of blue, yellow, white and green makes the blue tit one of our most attractive and most recognisable garden visitors. In winter, family flocks join up with other tits as they search for food. A garden with four or five blue tits at a feeder at any one time may be feeding 20 or more.
3		Robin Erithacus rubecula	Chats and thrushes	6,700,000 territories	101	10
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.
4		Blackbird Turdus merula	Chats and thrushes	10-15 million birds	158	18
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.
5		Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs	Finches	6,200,000 territories	59	1
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.
6		Woodpigeon Columba palumbus	Pigeons and doves	5,400,000 pairs	182	20
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.
7		House sparrow Passer domesticus	Sparrows	5,300,000 pairs	38	0
Noisy and gregarious, these cheerful exploiters of man's rubbish and wastefulness, have managed to colonise most of the world. The ultimate avian opportunist perhaps. Monitoring suggests a severe decline in the UK house sparrow population, recently estimated as dropping by 71 per cent between 1977 and 2008 with substantial declines in both rural and urban populations. Whilst the decline in England continues, Breeding Bird Survey data indicate recent population increases in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
8		Dunnock Prunella modularis	Accentors	2,500,000 territories	59	0
A small brown and grey bird. Quiet and unobtrusive, it is often seen on its own, creeping along the edge of a flower bed or near to a bush, moving with a rather nervous, shuffling gait, often flicking its wings as it goes. When two rival males come together they become animated with lots of wing-flicking and loud calling.
9		Great tit Parus major	Tits	2,500,000 territories	64	6
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 birdtable, fighting off smaller tits. In winter it joins with blue tits and others to form roaming flocks which scour gardens and countryside for food.
10		Willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus	Warblers and allies	2,400,000 territories	15	0
Willow warblers are small birds with grey-green backs and pale under parts. They have a yellow tinged chest and throat and pale supercillium (the stripe above the eye). They are separated from the very similar chiffchaff by their song. Their population, especially in southern Britain, has undergone a moderate decline over the past 25 years making them an Amber List species.
11		Pheasant Phasianus colchicus	Partridges, quails, pheasants and allies	2.3 million females	112	16
A large, long-tailed gamebird. Males have rich chestnut, golden-brown and black markings on body and tail, with a dark green head and red face wattling. Females are mottled with paler brown and black. They were introduced to the UK long ago and more recent introductions have brought in a variety of races and breeds for sport shooting.
12		Meadow pipit Anthus pratensis	Pipits and wagtails	2,000,000 territories	17	0
A small, brown, streaky bird, it is the commonest songbird in upland areas and its high, piping call is a familiar sound. In flight it shows white outer tail feathers and in the breeding season it has a fluttering 'parachute' display flight. In winter they are quite gregarious and gather in small flocks, often invisible among the vegetation, suddenly flying up with typical jerky flight. Meadow pipit numbers in the UK have been declining since the mid-1970s, resulting in this species being included on the amber list of conservation concern.
13		Goldcrest Regulus regulus	Warblers and allies	3-5 million birds	15	0
With the firecrest, the goldcrest is the UK's smallest bird. They're dull greyish-green with a pale belly and a black and yellow stripe on their heads, which has an orange centre in males. Their thin beak is ideally suited for picking insects out from between pine needles.
14		Greenfinch Carduelis chloris	Finches	1,700,000 pairs	28	0
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 regular garden visitor, able to take advantage of food in rural and urban gardens. Although quite sociable, they may squabble among themselves or with other birds at the bird table. Greenfinch populations declined during the late 1970s and early 1980s, but increased dramatically during the 1990s. A recent decline in numbers has been linked to an outbreak of trichomonosis, a parasite-induced disease which prevents the birds from feeding properly.
15		Skylark Alauda arvensis	Larks	1,500,000 territories	51	3
The skylark is a small brown bird, somewhat larger than a sparrow but smaller than a starling. It is streaky brown with a small crest, which can be raised when the bird is excited or alarmed, and a white-sided tail. The wings also have a white rear edge, visible in flight. It is renowned for its display flight, vertically up in the air. Its recent and dramatic population declines make it a Red List species.
16		Jackdaw Corvus monedula	Crows	1,400,000 pairs	110	7
This is a small, black crow with a distinctive silvery sheen to the back of its head. The pale eyes are also noticeable.
17		Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita	Warblers and allies	1,200,000 territories	27	1
A small olive-brown warbler which actively flits through trees and shrubs, with a distinctive tail-wagging movement. Less bright than the similar willow warbler and readily distinguished by its song, from where it gets its name. Picks insects from trees and also flies out to snap them up in flight.
18		Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla	Warblers and allies	1,200,000 territories	24	0
A distinctive greyish warbler, the male has a black cap, and the female a chestnut one. Its delightful fluting song has earned it the name 'northern nightingale'. Although primarily a summer visitor birds from Germany and north-east Europe are increasingly spending the winter in the UK.
19		Song thrush Turdus philomelos	Chats and thrushes	1,144,000 territories	21	0
A familiar and popular garden songbird whose numbers are declining seriously, especially on farmland making it a Red List species. Smaller and browner than a mistle thrush with smaller spotting. Its habit of repeating song phrases distinguish it from singing blackbirds. It likes to eat snails which it breaks into by smashing them against a stone with a flick of the head.
20		Whitethroat Sylvia communis	Warblers and allies	1,100,000 territories	19	1
The whitethroat is a medium-sized warbler, about the size of a great tit. It has quite a long tail which it flicks and cocks as it darts rapidly in and out of cover. The male has a grey head, a white throat and a brown back, and is buff underneath. It is a summer visitor and passage migrant, with birds breeding widely, although it avoids urban and mountainous areas. It winters in Africa, south of the Sahara.
21		Rook Corvus frugilegus	Crows	1,100,000 pairs	42	4
Bare, greyish-white face, thinner beak and peaked head make it distinguishable from the carrion crow. Rooks are very sociable birds, and you're not likely to see one on its own. They feed and roost in flocks in winter, often together with jackdaws.
22		Black-headed gull Larus ridibundus	Gulls	2.2 million birds	59	4
Not really a black-headed bird, more chocolate-brown - in fact, for much of the year, it has a white head. It is most definitely not a 'seagull' and is found commonly almost anywhere inland. Black-headed gulls are sociable, quarrelsome, noisy birds, usually seen in small groups or flocks, often gathering into larger parties where there is plenty of food, or when they are roosting.
23		Carrion crow Corvus corone	Crows	1,000,000 territories	111	5
The all-black carrion crow is one of the cleverest, most adaptable of our birds. It is often quite fearless, although it can be wary of man. They are fairly solitary, usually found alone or in pairs. The closely related hooded crow has recently been split as a separate species. Carrion crows will come to gardens for food and although often cautious initially, they soon learn when it is safe, and will return repeatedly to take advantage of whatever is on offer.
24		Collared dove Streptopelia decaocto	Pigeons and doves	990,000 pairs	63	6
Collared doves are a pale, pinky-brown grey colour, with a distinctive black neck collar (as the name suggests). They have deep red eyes and reddish feet. Their monotonous cooing will be a familiar sound to many of you. Although you'll often see them on their own or in pairs, flocks may form where there is a lot of food available.
25		Guillemot Uria aalge	Auks	950,000 pairs	17	0
The UK's coasts have many stretches of sheer cliffs where seabirds breed and the guillemot is one of the most numerous birds in the great 'seabird cities'. It comes to land only to nest, spending the rest of its life at sea, where it is vulnerable to oil spills. Dark brown and white, not as black as the similar razorbill, it has a 'bridled' form with a white ring round the eye and stripe behind it.
26		Swallow Hirundo rustica	Swallows and martins	860,000 territories	52	2
Swallows are small birds with dark, glossy-blue backs, red throats, pale underparts and long tail streamers. They are extremely agile in flight and spend most of their time on the wing. They are widespread breeding birds in the Northern Hemisphere, migrating south in winter. Swallow numbers in the UK have fluctuated over the last 30 years with pronounced regional variation in trends. The species is amber listed due to population declines across Europe.
27		Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis	Petrels and shearwaters	1.6-1.8 million birds	14	0
Almost gull-like, this grey and white seabird is related to the albatrosses. It flies low over the sea on stiff wings, with shallow wingbeats, gliding and banking to show its white underparts then grey upperparts. At its breeding sites it will fly high up the cliff face, riding the updraughts. They will feed in flocks out at sea. They defend their nests from intruders by spitting out a foul-smelling oil.
28		Starling Sturnus vulgaris	Starlings	804,000 territories	58	2
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.
29		Coal tit Periparus ater	Tits	760,000 territories	27	0
Not as colourful as some of its relatives, the coal tit has a distinctive grey back, black cap, and white patch at the back of its neck. Its smaller, more slender bill than blue or great tits means it can feed more successfully in conifers. A regular visitor to most peanut feeders, they will take and store food for eating later. In winter they join with other tits to form flocks which roam through woodlands and gardens in search of food.
30		Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella	Buntings	710,000 territories	54	0
Males are unmistakeable with a bright yellow head and underparts, brown back streaked with black, and chestnut rump. In flight it shows white outer tail feathers. Often seen perched on top of a hedge or bush, singing. Its recent population decline make it a Red List species.
31		Woodcock Scolopax rusticola	Sandpipers and allies	1.4 million birds	1	0
The woodcock is a large bulky wading bird with short legs, and a very long straight tapering bill. It is largely nocturnal, spending most of the day in dense cover. Most of the birds in the UK are residents; in the autumn birds move to the UK from Finland and Russia to winter here. The breeding population has been falling recent years, perhaps because of less habitat as conifer plantations become too mature for woodcocks to find open enough breeding areas.
32		Magpie Pica pica	Crows	600,000 territories	148	23
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. Magpies seem to be jacks of all trades - scavengers, predators and pest-destroyers, their challenging, almost arrogant attitude has won them few friends. Non-breeding birds will gather together in flocks.
33		Puffin Fratercula arctica	Auks	580,799 pairs	15	0
An unmistakable bird with its black back and white underparts, and distinctive black head with large pale cheeks and a tall, flattened, brightly-coloured bill. Its comical appearance is heightened by its red and black eye-markings and bright orange legs. Used as a symbol for books and other items, this clown among seabirds is one of the world's favourite birds. With half of the UK population at only a few sites it is an Amber List species.
34		Rock dove Columba livia	Pigeons and doves	550,000 pairs	16	0
The rock dove is the wild ancestor of domestic pigeons the world over, domesticated originally to provide food. Feral pigeons come in all shades, some bluer, others blacker - some are pale grey with darker chequered markings, others an unusual shade of dull brick-red or cinnamon-brown, and still others can be or less white while others look exactly like wild rock doves. In urban areas where the numbers are allowed to increase they can become pests.
35		Snipe Gallinago gallinago	Sandpipers and allies	1.1 million birds	19	0
Snipe are medium sized, skulking wading birds with short legs and long straight bills. Both sexes are mottled brown above, with paler buff stripes on the back, dark streaks on the chest and pale under parts. They are widespread as a breeding species in the UK, with particularly high densities on northern uplands but lower numbers in southern lowlands (especially south west England). In winter, birds from northern Europe join resident birds. The UK population of snipe has undergone moderate declines overall in the past twenty-five years, with particularly steep declines in lowland wet grassland, making it an Amber List species.
36		House martin Delichon urbica	Swallows and martins	510,000 pairs	32	1
The house martin is a small bird with glossy blue-black upper parts and pure white under parts. It has a distinctive white rump with a forked tail and, on close inspection, white feathers covering its legs and toes. It spends much of its time on the wing collecting insect prey. The bird's mud nest is usually sites below the eaves of buildings. They are summer migrants and spend their winters in Africa. Although still numerous and widespread, recent moderate declines earn them a place on the Amber List.
37		Pied wagtail Motacilla alba	Pipits and wagtails	470,000 pairs	55	1
A delightful small, long-tailed and rather sprightly black and white bird. When not standing and frantically wagging its tail up and down it can be seen dashing about over lawns or car parks in search of food. It frequently calls when in its undulating flight and often gathers at dusk to form large roosts in city centres.
38		Brambling Fringilla montifringilla	Finches	45,000-1,800,000 birds	4	0
Similar in size and shape to the chaffinch, the male has a black head in summer, and an orange breast with white belly. In flight it shows a long white rump. Gregarious in winter, it may form flocks of many thousands and often joins with chaffinches. Numbers can vary between winters depending on food supplies.
39		Linnet Carduelis cannabina	Finches	430,000 territories	13	0
A small, slim finch, widely distributed, and once very popular as a cage bird because of its melodious song. Males are attractively marked with crimson foreheads and breasts, females much browner. It has an undulating flight, usually twittering as it flies and may be seen in large flocks during the winter. Linnet numbers have dropped substantially over the past few decades, with the UK population estimated to have declined by 57 per cent between 1970 and 2008. Recent Breeding Bird Survey results suggest that while populations in England and Wales continue to decline, those in Scotland and Northern Ireland are currently increasing.
40		Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla	Gulls	380,000 pairs	19	0
A gentle looking, medium-sized gull with a small yellow bill and a dark eye. It has a grey back and is white underneath. Its legs are short and black. In flight the black wing-tips show no white, unlike other gulls, and look as if they have been 'dipped in ink'. The population is declining in some areas, perhaps due to a shortage of sandeels. After breeding birds move out into the Atlantic where they spend the winter.
41		Herring gull Larus argentatus	Gulls	740,000 birds	24	0
Herring gulls are large, noisy gulls found throughout the year around our coasts and inland around rubbish tips, fields, large reservoirs and lakes, especially during winter. Adults have light grey backs, white under parts, and black wing tips with white 'mirrors'. Their legs are pink, with webbed feet and they have heavy, slightly hooked bills marked with a red spot. Young birds are mottled brown. They have suffered moderate declines over the past 25 years and over half of their UK breeding population is confined to fewer than ten sites.
42		Siskin Carduelis spinus	Finches	369,000 pairs	14	0
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.
43		Fieldfare Turdus pilaris	Chats and thrushes	720,000 birds	48	1
Fieldfares are large, colourful thrushes, much like a mistle thrush in general size, shape and behaviour. They stand very upright and move forward with purposeful hops. They are very social birds, spending the winter in flocks of anything from a dozen or two to several hundred strong. These straggling, chuckling flocks that roam the UK's countryside are a delightful and attractive part of the winter scene.
44		Mallard Anas platyrhynchos	Swans, ducks and geese	710,000 birds	110	15
The mallard is a large and heavy looking duck. It has a long body and a long and broad bill. The male has a dark green head, a yellow bill, is mainly purple-brown on the breast and grey on the body. The female is mainly brown with an orange bill. It breeds in all parts of the UK in summer and winter, wherever there are suitable wetland habitats, although it is scarcer in upland areas. Mallards in the UK may be resident breeders or migrants - many of the birds that breed in Iceland and northern Europe spend the winter here.
45		Common gull Larus canus	Gulls	710,000 birds	13	0
It looks like a small, gentler version of the herring gull, with greenish legs and a yellow bill. Despite its name, it is not at all common in some inland areas, though often abundant on the coast and in some eastern counties. They are now seen more often in towns and on housing estates in winter.
46		Redwing Turdus iliacus	Chats and thrushes	690,000 birds	31	0
The redwing is most commonly encountered as a winter bird and is the UK's smallest true thrush. Its creamy strip above the eye and orange-red flank patches make it distinctive. They roam across the UK's countryside, feeding in fields and hedgerows, rarely visiting gardens, except in the coldest weather when snow covers the fields. Only a few pairs nest in the UK.
47		Long-tailed tit Aegithalos caudatus	Long-tailed tits	340,000 territories	49	0
The long-tailed tit is easily recognisable with its distinctive colouring, a tail that is bigger than its body, and undulating flight. Gregarious and noisy residents, long-tailed tits are most usually noticed in small, excitable flocks of about 20 birds. Like most tits, they rove the woods and hedgerows, but are also seen on heaths and commons with suitable bushes.
48		Lapwing Vanellus vanellus	Plovers and lapwings	650,000 birds	51	4
Also known as the peewit in imitation of its display calls, its proper name describes its wavering flight. Its black and white appearance and round-winged shape in flight make it distinctive, even without its splendid crest. This familiar farmland bird has suffered significant declines recently and is now an Red List species.
49		Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis	Finches	313,000 territories	55	1
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.
50		Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus	Petrels and shearwaters	280,000-320,000 pairs	1	0
A small shearwater, it has long straight slim wings, and is black above and white below. It flies with a series of rapid stiff-winged flaps followed by long glides on stiff straight wings over the surface of the sea, occasionally banking or 'shearing'. It breeds in colonies in the UK, on offshore islands where it is safe from rats and other ground predators. Birds leave their nest sites in July, to migrate to the coast of South America, where they spend the winter, returning in late February and March.
51		Sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus	Warblers and allies	290,000 territories	14	0
The sedge warbler is a small, quite plump, warbler with a striking broad creamy stripe above its eye, and greyish brown legs. It is brown above with blackish streaks and creamy white underneath. It is a summer visitor, and winters in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. Its song is a noisy, rambling warble compared to the more rhythmic song of the reed warbler.
52		Moorhen Gallinula chloropus	Rails	270,000 pairs	71	6
Moorhens are blackish with a red and yellow beak and long, green legs. Seen closer-up, they have a dark brown back and wings and a more bluish-black belly, with white stripes on the flanks.
53		Hooded crow Corvus cornix	Crows	260,000 pairs	10	0
The hooded crow is closely related to the carrion crow, which until recently was regarded as the same species. In areas where the two species overlap there may be some interbreeding with hybrids showing a mixed grey and black body plumage. Like carrion crows, hoodies also feed on dead animals. Unlike crows they can be more sociable in the feeding habits and groups of them may be seen together in fields.
54		Stock dove Columba oenas	Pigeons and doves	260,000 territories	9	0
Stock doves are similar in plumage and size to rock doves/feral pigeons. They are largely blue-grey with an attractive iridescent bottle green band on the back of the neck. In flight they show black edges to the wing and two partial black bands near their back. Unlike rock doves/feral pigeons they do not have pale rumps. They are widely distributed in the UK, except for parts of northern Scotland and Ireland, with particularly high densities in the English Midlands and South West. Over half their European population is found in the UK.
55		Reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus	Buntings	250,000 territories	28	0
Sparrow-sized but slim and with a long, deeply notched tail, the male has a black head, white collar and a drooping moustache. Females and winter males have a streaked head. In flight the tail looks black with broad, white edges.
56		Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe	Chats and thrushes	240,000 pairs	15	0
The wheatear is a small mainly ground-dwelling bird. It hops or runs on the ground. It is blue-grey above with black wings and white below with an orange flush to the breast. It has a black cheek. In flight it shows a white rump and a black 'T' shape on its tail. It is a summer visitor and passage migrant. Birds breed mainly in western and northern Britain and western Ireland, although smaller numbers do breed in southern and eastern England. It winters in central Africa.
57		Red grouse Lagopus lagopus	Grouse	230,000 pairs	13	1
The red grouse is a medium-sized game bird. It has a plump body, a short tail and a lightly hook-tipped bill. It is reddish-brown, with its legs and feet covered in pale feathers. Birds breed in the UK in the uplands of the north and west and are resident all year round, travelling very little in their lives. The population is declining, perhaps linked to diseases and the loss of heather moorland.
58		Wigeon Anas penelope	Swans, ducks and geese	450,000 birds	37	0
The wigeon is a medium-sized duck with a round head and small bill. The head and neck of the male are chestnut, with a yellow forehead, pink breast and grey body. In flight birds show white bellies and males have a large white wing patch. Birds breed in central and northern Scotland and also in northern England. Many birds visit the UK in winter from Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia. With large numbers of wintering birds at a few UK sites it is an Amber List species.
59		Nuthatch Sitta europaea	Nuthatches	220,000 territories	18	2
The nuthatch is a plump bird about the size of a great tit that resembles a small woodpecker. It is blue-grey above and whitish below, with chestnut on its sides and under its tail. It has a black stripe on its head, a long black pointed bill, and short legs. It breeds in central and southern England and in Wales, and is resident, with birds seldom travelling far from the woods where they hatch.
60		Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula	Finches	220,000 territories	30	0
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 on the buds of various trees in spring and were once a 'pest' of fruit crops.
61		Gannet Morus bassanus	Boobies and gannets	220,000 nests	18	0
Adults are large and bright white with black wingtips. They are distinctively shaped with a long neck and long pointed beak, long pointed tail, and long pointed wings. At sea they flap and then glide low over the water, often travelling in small groups. They feed by flying high and circling before plunging into the sea. It breeds in significant numbers at only a few localities and so is an Amber List species.
62		Lesser redpoll Carduelis cabaret	Finches	220,000 pairs	6	0
This tiny finch – only slightly bigger than a blue tit – is streaky and brown with patches of red on its head and sometimes its breast. They like to hang upside down to feed in trees. It has recently been 'split' from the mealy (or common) redpoll, a larger and paler species which is a winter visitor to the UK.
63		Golden plover Pluvialis apricaria	Plovers and lapwings	420,000 birds	14	0
A medium-sized plover with a distinctive gold and black summer plumage. In winter the black in replaced by buff and white. They typically stand upright and run in short bursts. Very wary on the breeding grounds. In winter they form large flocks which fly in fairly tight formation with rapid, twinkling wingbeats.
64		Treecreeper Certhia familiaris	Treecreepers	200,000 territories	23	0
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.
65		Tree sparrow Passer montanus	Sparrows	200,000 territories	22	0
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 people, although in continental Europe they often nest in buildings just like house sparrows. The UK tree sparrow population has suffered a severe decline, estimated at 93 per cent between 1970 and 2008. However, recent Breeding Bird Survey data is encouraging, suggesting that numbers may have started to increase, albeit from a very low point.
66		Dunlin Calidris alpina	Sandpipers and allies	360,000 birds	17	0
The commonest small wader found along the coast. It has a slightly down-curved bill and a distinctive black belly patch in breeding plumage. It feeds in flocks in winter, sometimes numbering thousands, roosting on nearby fields, saltmarshes and shore when the tide is high.
67		Pink-footed goose Anser brachyrhynchus	Swans, ducks and geese	360,000 birds	13	0
The pink-footed goose is a medium-sized goose, smaller than a mute swan but bigger than a mallard. It is pinkish grey with a dark head and neck, a pink bill and pink feet and legs. This species does not breed in the UK, but large numbers of birds spend the winter here, arriving from their breeding grounds in Spitsbergen, Iceland and Greenland. Numbers in England are on the increase, particularly in Norfolk, probably due to better protection at winter roosts.
68		Garden warbler Sylvia borin	Warblers and allies	170,000 territories	11	0
A very plain warbler with no distinguishing features (a feature in itself!). It spends a lot of its time in the cover of trees and bushes and can be more difficult to see than its relative, the blackcap. Despite its name it is not really a garden bird, except in mature gardens next to woods. Its song is similar to that of a blackcap, but has longer mellow phrases.
69		Jay Garrulus glandarius	Crows	170,000 territories	62	8
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.
70		Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus	Oystercatchers	340,000 birds	44	3
The oystercatcher is a large, stocky, black and white wading bird. It has a long, orange-red bill and reddish-pink legs. In flight, it shows a wide white wing-stripe, a black tail, and a white rump that extends as a 'V' between the wings. Because it eats cockles, the population is vulnerable if cockle beds are overexploited. Breeds on almost all UK coasts; over the last 50 years, more birds have started breeding inland. Most UK birds spend the winter on the coast; where they are joined on the east coast by birds from Norway.
71		Mistle thrush Turdus viscivorus	Chats and thrushes	170,000 territories	19	1
This is a pale, black-spotted thrush - large, aggressive and powerful. It stands boldly upright and bounds across the ground while in flight, it has long wings and its tail has whitish edges. It is most likely to be noticed perched high at the top of a tree, singing its fluty song or giving its rattling call in flight.
72		Knot Calidris canuta	Sandpipers and allies	320,000 birds	9	0
The knot is a dumpy, short-legged, stocky wading bird. In winter, It is grey above and white below; in summer the chest, belly and face are brick-red. In flight, it shows a pale rump and a faint wing-stripe. It forms huge flocks in winter which wheel and turn in flight, flashing their pale underwings as they twist and turn. Many knots use UK estuaries as feeding grounds, both on migration and in winter, and therefore the population is vulnerable to any changes such as barrages, sea-level rises and human disturbance. Large numbers of birds visit the UK in winter from their Arctic breeding grounds.
73		Great spotted woodpecker Dendrocopos major	Wrynecks and woodpeckers	140,000 pairs	27	0
About blackbird-sized and striking black-and-white. It has a very distinctive bouncing flight and spends most of its time clinging to tree trunks and branches, often trying to hide on the side away from the observer. Its presence is often announced by its loud call or by its distinctive spring 'drumming' display. The male has a distinctive red patch on the back of the head and young birds have a red crown.
74		Razorbill Alca torda	Auks	130,000 pairs	17	0
The razorbill is a medium-sized seabird. It is black above and white below. It has a thick black beak which is deep and blunt, unlike the thinner bill of the similar guillemot. It breeds around the coast of the UK, with the largest colonies in northern Scotland. There are none breeding between the Humber and the Isle of Wight. Birds only come to shore to breed, and winter in the northern Atlantic. The future of this species is linked to the health of the marine environment. Fishing nets, pollution and declining fish stocks all threaten the razorbill.
75		Reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus	Warblers and allies	130,000 pairs	10	0
The reed warbler is a plain unstreaked warbler. It is warm brown above and buff coloured underneath. It is a summer visitor to breed in the UK, with the largest concentrations in East Anglia and along the south coast - there are relatively few breeding in Scotland and Ireland. It winters in Africa.
76		Sand martin Riparia riparia	Swallows and martins	54,000-174,000 nests	17	0
Sand martins are the smallest European hirundines (martins and swallows), with dark brown upper parts and dark under wings contrasting with otherwise pale under parts divided by a distinctive dark chest bar. Agile fliers, feeding mainly over water, they will perch on overhead wires or branches. They are gregarious in the breeding season and winter. Over the past 50 years the European population has crashed on two occasions as a result of drought in the birds' African wintering grounds.
77		Greylag goose Anser anser	Swans, ducks and geese	228,000 birds	47	2
The ancestor of most domestic geese, the greylag is the largest and bulkiest of the wild geese native to the UK and Europe. In many parts of the UK it has been re-established by releasing birds in suitable areas, but the resulting flocks (often mixed with Canada geese) found around gravel pits, lakes and reservoirs all year round in southern Britain tend to be semi-tame and uninspiring. The native birds and wintering flocks found in Scotland retain the special appeal of truly wild geese.
78		Lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus	Gulls	110,000 pairs	14	0
Slightly smaller than a herring gull, the lesser black-backed gull has a dark grey to black back and wings, yellow bill and yellow legs. Their world population is found entirely in Europe. After declines in the 19th century due to persecution they increased their range and numbers. This expansion has now halted and there is serious concern about declines in many parts of its range. The species is on the Amber List because the UK is home to 40% of the European population and more than half of these are found at fewer than ten sites.
79		Teal Anas crecca	Swans, ducks and geese	220,000 birds	42	0
Teals are small dabbling ducks. Males have chestnut coloured heads with broad green eye-patches, a spotted chest, grey flanks and a black edged yellow tail. Females are mottled brown. Both show bright green wing patches (speculum) in flight. They are thinly distributed as a breeding species with a preference for northern moors and mires. In winter birds congregate in low-lying wetlands in the south and west of the UK. Of these, many are continental birds from around the Baltic and Siberia. At this time, the UK is home to a significant percentage of the NW European wintering population making it an Amber List species.
80		Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus	Chats and thrushes	100,000 pairs	2	0
Redstarts are immediately identifiable by their bright orange-red tails, which they often quiver. Breeding males look smart, with slate grey upper parts, black faces and wings, and an orange rump and chest. Females and young are duller. Redstarts 'bob' in a very robin-like manner, but spend little time at ground level. It is included on the Amber List as species with unfavourable conservation status in Europe where it is declining.
81		Canada goose Branta canadensis	Swans, ducks and geese	190,000 birds	80	4
A large goose, with a distinctive black head and neck and large white throat patch. An introduced species from N America, it has successfully spread to cover most of the UK. It forms noisy flocks and is often regarded as a nuisance in areas where large numbers occur on amenity grassland and parks.
82		Coot Fulica atra	Rails	190,000 birds	69	6
All-black and larger than its cousin, the moorhen, it has a distinctive white beak and 'shield' above the beak which earns it the title 'bald'. Its feet have distinctive lobed flaps of skin on the toes, which act instead of webs when swimming. It patters noisily over the water before taking off and can be very aggressive towards others.
83		Tree pipit Anthus trivialis	Pipits and wagtails	88,000 territories	4	0
Tree pipits have brown streaked upper parts and pale under parts with further streaking on buff tinged chest and flanks. They are very similar to meadow pipits but, on close inspection, may be distinguished by their heavier bill, shorter hind claw and fine streaking on the flank - they also have very different calls. Widespread summer visitors to the UK, they occur in particularly high densities in Western uplands. Their population has undergone declines over the past 25 years, especially in central and southern England.
84		Swift Apus apus	Swifts	87,000 pairs	31	0
The swift is a medium-sized aerial bird, which is a superb flier. It evens sleeps on the wing! It is plain sooty brown, but in flight against the sky it appears black. It has long, scythe-like wings and a short, forked tail. It is a summer visitor, breeding across the UK, but most numerously in the south and east. It winters in Africa.
85		Red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa	Partridges, quails, pheasants and allies	82,000 territories	31	1
Larger than the grey partridge, it has a large white chin and throat patch, bordered with black. It has a greyish body with bold black flank stripes, and a chestnut-sided tail. It is an introduced species, brought to the UK from continental Europe, where it is largely found in France and Spain.
86		Curlew Numenius arquata	Sandpipers and allies	150,000 birds	31	1
The curlew is the largest European wading bird, instantly recognisable on winter estuaries or summer moors by its long, downcurved bill, brown upperparts, long legs and evocative call.
87		Lesser whitethroat Sylvia curruca	Warblers and allies	74,000 territories	6	0
As the name suggests, this warbler is smaller than its cousin the whitethroat. It sports dark cheek feathers that contrast with the pale throat and can give it a 'masked' look. When its flits from cover you might see the white outer feathers of its tail. Lesser whitethroats are hard to see and often only noticed when they give their harsh, rattling song, or 'tacking' call.
88		Buzzard Buteo buteo	Hawks and eagles	57,000-79,000 pairs	83	4
Now the commonest and most widespread UK bird of prey. It is quite large with broad, rounded wings, and a short neck and tail. When gliding and soaring it will often hold its wings in a shallow 'V' and the tail is fanned. Birds are variable in colour from all dark brown to much paler variations, all have dark wingtips and a finely barred tail. Their plaintive mewing call could be mistaken for a cat.
89		Redshank Tringa totanus	Sandpipers and allies	130,000 birds	24	0
As its name suggests, redshanks' most distinctive features are their bright orange-red legs. They have a medium-length bill with an orange base to match, brown speckled back and wings and paler belly.
90		Twite Carduelis flavirostris	Finches	100,000-150,000 birds (incl. Ireland)	6	0
The twite is a small, brown finch closely related to the linnet, but with a longer tail and stubbier bill. Its back is tawny, heavily streaked with dark brown, and is white below with dark-brown streaks on its flanks. The rump is pink on males but brown on females. Like the linnet, it feeds on seeds year-round.
91		Brent goose Branta bernicla	Swans, ducks and geese	121,400 birds	22	0
A small, dark goose - the same size as a mallard. It has a black head and neck and grey-brown back, with either a pale or dark belly, depending on the race. Adults have a small white neck patch. It flies in loose flocks along the coast, rather than in tight skeins like grey geese. It is an Amber List species because of the important numbers found at just a few sites.
92		Tufted duck Aythya fuligula	Swans, ducks and geese	120,000 birds	47	1
The tufted duck is a medium-sized diving duck, smaller than a mallard. It is black on the head, neck, breast and back and white on the sides. It has a small crest and a yellow eye. In flight it shows an obvious white stripe across the back of the wing. It breeds in the UK across lowland areas of England, Scotland and Ireland, but less commonly in Wales, with most birds being residents. Numbers increase in the UK in winter because of birds moving to the UK from Iceland and northern Europe.
93		Stonechat Saxicola torquata	Chats and thrushes	59,000 pairs	20	1
Stonechats are robin sized birds. Males have striking black heads with white around the side of their neck, orange-red breasts and a mottled brown back. Females lack the male's black head, but have brown backs and an orange tinge to their chests. Birds are frequently seen flicking their wings while perched, often doing so on the tops of low bushes. As its name suggests, birds utter a sharp loud call that sound like two stones being tapped together. They breed in western and southern parts of the UK, but disperse more widely in winter.
94		Jack snipe Lymnocryptes minimus	Sandpipers and allies	110,000 birds	1	0
Smaller than snipe with a shorter bill. It is a secretive bird and when approached it tends to crouch down, relying on its camouflaged plumage, only flying at the last minute. It will fly low and rapidly drop down again, unlike snipe which zig-zags and then flies off high. When feeding it has a characteristic 'bouncing' motion, as if on a spring.
95		Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis	Cormorants and shags	110,000 birds	9	0
Shags are goose-sized dark long-necked birds similar to cormorants but smaller and generally slimmer with a characteristic steep forehead. In the breeding season adults develop a dark glossy green plumage and prominent recurved crest on the front of their head. In the UK they breed on coastal sites, mainly in the north and west, and over half their population is found at fewer than 10 sites, making them an Amber List species. Shags usually stay within 100-200km of their breeding grounds.
96		Arctic tern Sterna paradisaea	Terns	53,000 pairs	8	0
With its long tail streamers and general shape the Arctic tern deserves the local name of 'sea swallow'. Appearing white with a black cap, it is largely coastal although it can be seen inland on migration. It depends on a healthy marine environment and some colonies have been affected by fish shortages. Arctic terns are the ultimate long distance migrants - summer visitors to the UK and winter visitors to the Antarctic.
97		Green woodpecker Picus viridis	Wrynecks and woodpeckers	52,000 pairs	38	3
The green woodpecker is the largest of the three woodpeckers that breed in Britain. It has a heavy-looking body, short tail and a strong, long bill. It is green on its upperparts with a paler belly, bright yellow rump and red on the top of its head. The black 'moustache' has a red centre in males. They have an undulating flight and a loud, laughing call.
98		Common scoter Melanitta nigra	Swans, ducks and geese	100,000 birds	4	0
An all dark seaduck, the male is totally black and the female lighter, with a pale face. They are often seen as large bobbing rafts offshore, or long straggling lines flying along the coast. The UK breeding population of this small diving seaduck has substantially declined and it is now a Red List species. Its winter populations are vulnerable to oilspills.
99		Tawny owl Strix aluco	Owls	50,000 pairs	7	0
The tawny owl is an owl the size of a pigeon. It has a rounded body and head, with a ring of dark feathers around its face surrounding the dark eyes. It is mainly reddish brown above and paler underneath. It is a widespread breeding species in England, Wales and Scotland but not found in Ireland. Birds are mainly residents with established pairs probably never leaving their territories. Young birds disperse from breeding grounds in autumn.
100		Leachs petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa	Petrels and shearwaters	48,047 pairs	0	0
The leach's petrel is a starling-sized seabird. Birds are all black underneath and mostly black above, apart from a white rump. It has a forked tail. The white rump has a black line down it. Breeds on remote offshore islands to the UK and feed out beyond the Continental shelf. It is specially protected by law and it is important that its breeding colonies are protected from introduced predators such as cats and rats. Spends most of its time at sea, only approaching land to breed and then only at night. Most British and Irish birds migrate in the winter to the tropics, although a few remain in the northern Atlantic.
101		Barnacle goose Branta leucopsis	Swans, ducks and geese	94,000 birds	16	0
A medium-sized, sociable goose, with black head, neck and breast with creamy-white face, which contrasts with the white belly, blue-grey barred back and black tail. It flies in packs and long lines, with a noisy chorus of barking or yapping sounds.
102		Whinchat Saxicola rubetra	Chats and thrushes	47,000 pairs	4	0
The whinchat is a small perching bird. It hops or runs on the ground and often perches on top of low bushes. It has a prominent white stripe above the eye. It is streaky brown above and warm orange-buff on the breast. The whinchat is a summer visitor and passage migrant. Birds breed in upland areas of northern and western Britain with a few in Ireland. It winters in central and southern Africa. Whinchat numbers in Britain more than halved between 1995 and 2008, the cause(s) being unknown.
103		Kestrel Falco tinnunculus	Falcons and allies	46,000 pairs	60	4
A familiar sight with its pointed wings and long tail, hovering beside a roadside verge. Numbers of kestrels declined in the 1970s, probably as a result of changes in farming and so it is included on the Amber List. They have adapted readily to man-made environments and can survive right in the centre of cities.
104		Grey partridge Perdix perdix	Partridges, quails, pheasants and allies	43,000 territories	8	0
A medium-sized, plump gamebird with a distinctive orange face. Flies with whirring wings and occasional glides, showing a chestnut tail. It is strictly a ground bird, never likely to be found in pear trees! Groups of 6-15 (known as coveys) are most usually seen outside the breeding season. Once very common and widespread, it has undergone serious declines throughout most of its range and is a Red List species.
105		Marsh tit Poecile palustris	Tits	41,000 territories	11	0
This is a small, mainly brown bird, with a shiny black cap, dark 'bib' and pale belly. In the UK its identification is made tricky by the very similar appearance of our race of willow tit. They're so hard to identify that ornithologists didn't realise there were two species until 1897!
106		Crossbill Loxia curvirostra	Finches	40,000 pairs	1	0
A chunky finch with a large head and bill which is crossed over at the tips. Most often encountered in noisy family groups or larger flocks, usually flying close to treetop height. It feeds acrobatically, fluttering from cone to cone. Adult males are a distinctive brick-red and females greenish-brown.
107		Mute swan Cygnus olor	Swans, ducks and geese	79,000 birds	76	8
The mute swan is a very large white waterbird. It has a long S-shaped neck, and an orange bill with black at the base of it. Flies with its neck extended and regular slow wingbeats. The population in the UK has increased recently, perhaps due to better protection of this species. The problem of lead poisoning on lowland rivers has also largely been solved by a ban on the sale of lead fishing weights. Some birds stay in their territories all year, while others move short distances and form winter flocks. In cold weather, some birds arrive from Europe into eastern England.
108		Great black-backed gull Larus marinus	Gulls	77,000 birds	22	0
A very large, thick-set black-backed gull, with a powerful beak. Adults are blacker than the smaller lesser black-backed gull. It has a heavy flight and can look quite hunched when perched. It will fight off other gulls and chase them to snatch food.
109		Grey wagtail Motacilla cinerea	Pipits and wagtails	38,000 pairs	35	2
The grey wagtail is more colourful than its name suggests with slate grey upper parts and distinctive lemon yellow under-tail. Its tail is noticeably longer than those of pied and yellow wagtails. They have gradually increased their range in the past 150 years and in the UK have expanded into the English lowlands from the northern and western uplands.
110		Spotted flycatcher Muscicapa striata	Flycatchers	36,000 territories	4	0
At first glance, spotted flycatchers might seem dull brownish-grey and - well - a bit boring. It's better to think of them as beautiful in an understated way. Watch them for a short period and you'll be charmed by their fly-catching antics. Spotted flycatchers fly from a high perch, dash out to grab a flying insect and return to the same spot.
111		Rock pipit Anthus petrosus	Pipits and wagtails	36,000 pairs	5	0
The rock pipit is a large stocky pipit, larger than a meadow pipit and smaller than a starling. It is streaky olive-brown above and dirty white underneath with dark streaking. It breeds around the coast where there are rocky beaches, and most of the birds that breed in the UK are residents, with only the young birds dispersing once they become independent. Some birds arrive here from Norway to spend the winter.
112		Grey plover Pluvialis squatarola	Plovers and lapwings	70,000 birds in spring	12	0
In summer it has silver and black spotted upperparts, a black face, neck and belly and in winter, it loses the black feathers and takes on a browny-grey look. In both plumages, the rump is white and in flight in winter it shows distinctive black 'armpits'. Like most plovers it stands very upright and tends to run and then suddenly stop to feed. It is generally seen in small numbers, although flocks can form when there is a high tide.
113		Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus	Hawks and eagles	35,000 pairs	19	1
Sparrowhawks are small birds of prey. They're adapted for hunting birds in confined spaces like dense woodland, so gardens are ideal hunting grounds for them. Adult male sparrowhawks have bluish-grey back and wings and orangey-brown bars on their chest and belly. Females and young birds have brown back and wings, and brown bars underneath. Sparrowhawks have bright yellow or orangey eyes, long, yellow legs and long talons. Females are larger than males, as with most birds of prey.
114		Black guillemot Cepphus grylle	Auks	58-80,000 birds (incl. Ireland)	4	0
Its striking black and white plumage and bright red feet make it easy to identify in summer. Unlike most other European auks the black guillemot is typically found in ones and twos, scattered around rocky islets. It is typical of the larger sea lochs of western Scotland, and the northern and western isles, but is also found in Ireland, the Isle of Man and in a handful of spots in England and Wales.
115		Eider Somateria mollissima	Swans, ducks and geese	63,000 birds	19	0
The UK's heaviest duck, and its fastest flying. It is a true seaduck, rarely found away from coasts where its dependence on coastal molluscs for food has brought it into conflict with mussel farmers. Eiders are highly gregarious and usually stay close inshore, riding the swell in a sandy bay or strung out in long lines out beyond the breaking waves. It is an Amber List species because of its winter concentrations.
116		Grey heron Ardea cinerea	Bitterns and herons	63,000 birds	58	7
Grey herons are unmistakeable: tall, with long legs, a long beak and grey, black and white feathering. They can stand with their neck stretched out, looking for food, or hunched down with their neck bent over their chest.
117		Shelduck Tadorna tadorna	Swans, ducks and geese	61,000 birds	42	2
This is a big, colourful duck, bigger than a mallard but smaller than a goose. Both sexes have a dark green head and neck, a chestnut belly stripe and a red bill.
118		Storm petrel Hydrobates pelagicus	Petrels and shearwaters	25,650 pairs	1	0
A little bigger than a sparrow it appears all black with a white rump. Its tail is not forked, unlike Leach's petrel. In flight it flutters over the water, feeding with its wings held up in a 'V' with feet pattering across the waves. At sea it often feeds in flocks and will follow in the wake of ships, especially trawlers.
119		Turnstone Arenaria interpres	Sandpipers and allies	51,000 birds	18	0
Smaller than a redshank, turnstones have a mottled appearance with brown or chestnut and black upperparts and brown and white or black and white head pattern, whilst their underparts are white and legs orange. They spend most of their time creeping and fluttering over rocks, picking out food from under stones.
120		Pochard Aythya ferina	Swans, ducks and geese	48,000 birds	30	0
In winter and spring, male pochards are very distinctive. They have a bright reddish-brown head, a black breast and tail and a pale grey body. Females are more easily confused with other species; they are brown with a greyish body and pale cheeks. However, during the 'eclipse' – when ducks grow new feathers – the males look very similar to the females. They become more camouflaged so that they don't draw the attention of predators.
121		Black-tailed godwit Limosa limosa	Sandpipers and allies	44,000 birds from the Icelandic population	16	0
Black-tailed godwits are large wading birds. In summer, they have bright orangey-brown chests and bellies, but in winter they’re more greyish-brown. Their most distinctive features are their long beaks and legs, and the black and white stripes on their wings. Female black-tailed godwits are bigger and heavier than the males, with a noticeably longer beak (which helps the sexes to avoid competing for food with each other). They’re very similar to bar-tailed godwits, which breed in the Arctic. Black-taileds have longer legs, and bar-taileds don’t have striped wings. As the names suggest, the tail patterns are different, too.
122		Bar-tailed godwit Limosa lapponica	Sandpipers and allies	41,000 birds	6	0
A long-billed, long-legged wading bird which visits UK shores for the winter. Most usually seen in its grey-brown winter plumage, birds in spring may show their full rich chestnut breeding plumage. In flight it shows a white patch stretching from the rump up the back, narrowing to a point. It breeds in the Arctic of Scandinavia and Siberia and hundreds of thousands of them pass through the UK, on their way further south, or stop off here for the winter.
123		Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo	Cormorants and shags	41,000 birds	58	4
A large and conspicuous waterbird, the cormorant has an almost primitive appearance with its long neck making it appear almost reptilian. It is often seen standing with its wings held out to dry. Regarded by some as black, sinister and greedy, cormorants are supreme fishers which can bring them into conflict with anglers and they have been persecuted in the past. The UK holds internationally important wintering numbers.
124		Pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca	Flycatchers	17,000-20,000 pairs	4	0
The pied flycatcher is a small, flycatching bird, slightly smaller than a house sparrow. The male is mostly black on the upperparts and white underneath, with a bold white patch on the folded wing. Females are browner. It is a summer visitor and breeds mainly in western areas, spending the winter in West Africa.
125		Ringed plover Charadrius hiaticula	Plovers and lapwings	36,000 birds	14	0
The ringed plover is a small, dumpy, short-legged wading bird. It is brownish grey above and whitish below. It has a orange bill, tipped with black, orange legs and a black-and-white pattern on its head and breast. In flight it shows a broad white wing-stripe. Breeds on beaches around the coast, but has also now breeding inland in sand and gravel pits and former industrial sites. Many UK birds live here all year round, but birds from Europe winter in Britain and birds from Greenland and Canada pass through on migration.
126		Cuckoo Cuculus canorus	Cuckoos	16,000 pairs	7	0
The cuckoo is a dove-sized bird with blue grey upper parts, head and chest with dark barred white under parts. With their sleek body, long tail and pointed wings they are not unlike kestrels or sparrowhawks. Sexes are similar and the young are brown. They are summer visitors and well-known brood parasites, the females laying their eggs in the nests of other birds, especially meadow pipits, dunnocks and reed warblers. Their recent population decline makes this a Red List species.
127		Grasshopper warbler Locustella naevia	Warblers and allies	16,000 pairs	3	0
The high, insect-like reeling song of the grasshopper warbler is the best clue to its presence. Even when you hear one it can be difficult to locate it due to the ventriloquial effect of its singing. If seen on migration it moves like a little mouse, creeping through the foliage. Dramatic population declines have made this a Red List species.
128		Common sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos	Sandpipers and allies	15,000 pairs	10	0
A smallish wader with contrasting brown upperparts and white underparts. It habitually bobs up and down, known as 'teetering', and has a distinctive flight with stiff, bowed wings. Its presence is often betayed by its three-note call which it gives as it flies off.
129		Yellow wagtail Motacilla flava	Pipits and wagtails	15,000 territories	10	0
The yellow wagtail is a small, graceful, yellow and green bird, with a medium-length tail and slender black legs. It spends much time walking or running on the ground. As its name implies, it wags its tail from time to time. It is a summer visitor, migrating to winter in Africa. It breeds in a variety of habitats in the UK, including arable farmland, wet pastures and upland hay meadows. Serious declines in breeding numbers accross all of these habitats place the yellow wagtail on the red list of birds of conservation concern.
130		Pintail Anas acuta	Swans, ducks and geese	29,000 birds	23	0
Slightly bigger than a mallard, these long-necked and small-headed ducks fly with a curved back pointed wings and a tapering tail, making this the best way to distinguish them from other ducks in the UK. The pintail is a 'quarry' species, meaning that it can be legally shot in winter, but - unlike in parts of Europe - it does not appear that shooting is affecting their population status in the UK. The small breeding population and significant winter population make them an Amber List species.
131		Turtle dove Streptopelia turtur	Pigeons and doves	14,000 territories	8	0
The turtle dove is a dainty dove, smaller and darker than the collared dove and slightly larger than a blackbird. Its upperparts are distinctively mottled with chestnut and black and its black tail has a white edge. The gentle purr of the turtle dove is an evocative sound of summer, but has become increasingly rare following rapid and sustained population declines. One cause of the decline is thought to be lack of seed and grain as food during the breeding season, resulting in a much shorter breeder season with fewer nesting attempts. The species is now included on the Red List of conservation concern.
132		Short-eared owl Asio flammeus	Owls	5,000-50,000 birds	2	0
Short-eared owls are medium sized owls with mottled brown bodies, pale under-wings and yellow eyes. They are commonly seen hunting during the day. In winter, there is an influx of continental birds (from Scandinavia, Russia, Iceland) to northern, eastern, and parts of central southern England, especially around the coast. They are of European conservation concern and so are an Amber List species.
133		Goldeneye Bucephala clangula	Swans, ducks and geese	27,000 birds	26	0
A medium sized diving duck. Males look black and white with a greenish black head and a circular white patch in front of the yellow eye. Females are smaller, and are mottled grey with a chocolate brown head. In flight, birds show a large area of white on the inner wing. First nested in Scotland in 1970, and since then birds have been attracted to nest in specially designed boxes put up on trees close to water. In winter, birds from Northern Europe visit the UK.
134		Gadwall Anas strepera	Swans, ducks and geese	25,000 birds	33	0
This very grey-coloured dabbling duck, a little smaller than the mallard, and with an obvious black rear end. It shows a white wing patch in flight. When seen close up the grey colour is made up of exquisitely fine barring and speckling. It nests in low numbers in the UK and is an Amber List species.
135		Dipper Cinclus cinclus	Dippers	6,200-18,700 pairs	13	0
A short-tailed, plump bird with a low, whirring flight. When perched on a rock it habitually bobs up and down and frequently cocks its tail. Its white throat and breast contrasts with its dark body plumage. It is remarkable in its method of walking into and under water in search of food.
136		Common tern Sterna hirundo	Terns	12,000 pairs	19	0
These delightful silvery-grey and white birds have long tails which have earned them the nickname 'sea-swallow'. They have a buoyant, graceful flight and frequently hover over water before plunging down for a fish. They are often noisy in company and breed in colonies.
137		Sandwich tern Sterna sandvicensis	Terns	12,000 pairs	2	0
The Sandwich tern is a very white tern, with a black cap on its head, a long black bill with a yellow tip and short black legs. In flight it shows grey wedges on its wings tips and it has a short forked tail. In the UK, many of the important colonies survive because they are on nature reserves.
138		Great crested grebe Podiceps cristatus	Grebes	23,000 birds	45	1
A delightfully elegant waterbird with ornate head plumes which led to its being hunted for its feathers, almost leading to its extermination from the UK. They dive to feed and also to escape, preferring this to flying. On land they are clumsy because their feet are placed so far back on their bodies. They have an elaborate courtship display in which they rise out of the water and shake their heads. Very young grebes often ride on their parents' backs.
139		Corn bunting Miliaria calandra	Buntings	11,000 territories	6	0
This nondescript lowland farmland bird is the largest of the buntings and is most usually seen perched on a wire or post. It is a stout, dumpy bird brown which flies off with a fluttering flight and with its legs characteristically 'dangling'. Its dramatic population decline in the UK makes it a Red List species.
140		Great skua Catharacta skua	Skuas	9,634 pairs	2	0
The great skua is an aggressive pirate of the seas, deliberately harrassing birds as large as gannets to steal a free meal. It also readily kills and eats smaller birds such as puffins. Great skuas show little fear of humans - anybody getting close to the nest will be repeatedly dive-bombed by the angry adult. These birds migrate to the northernmost isles of the UK from their wintering grounds off the coasts of Spain and Africa. At a distance they look stout and dark and show white wing flashes in flight.
141		Barn owl Tyto alba	Owls	12,500-25,000 birds	23	0
With heart-shaped face, buff back and wings and pure white underparts, the barn owl is a distinctive and much-loved countryside bird. Widely distributed across the UK, and indeed the world, this bird has suffered declines through the 20th century and is thought to have been adversely affected by organochlorine pesticides such as DDT in the 1950s and '60s. Nocturnal birds like the barn owl are poorly monitored by the Breeding Bird Survey and, subject to this caveat, numbers may have increased between 1995-2008.
142		Shoveler Anas clypeata	Swans, ducks and geese	18,000 birds	35	0
Shovelers are surface feeing ducks with huge spatulate bills. Males have dark green heads, with white breasts and chestnut flanks. Females are mottled brown. In flight birds show patches of light blue and green on their wings. In the UK they breed in southern and eastern England, especially around the Ouse Washes, the Humber and the North Kent Marshes, and in much smaller numbers in Scotland and western parts of England. In winter, breeding birds move south, and are replaced by an influx of continental birds from further north. The UK is home to more than 20% of the NW European population, making it an Amber List species.
143		Ring-necked parakeet Psittacula krameri	Parrots	8,600 pairs	27	3
The UK's only naturalised parrot - it is large, long-tailed and green with a red beak and a pink and black ring around its face and neck. In flight it has pointed wings, a long tail and very steady, direct flight. Often found in flocks, numbering hundreds at a roost site, it can be very noisy.
144		Red-throated diver Gavia stellata	Divers	17,000 birds	3	0
The smallest of the UK's divers, its grey-brown plumage and up-tilted bill readily distinguish it from the other species. In summer it has a distinctive red throat. They usually jump up to dive and can stay underwater for a minute and a half. They are very ungainly on land, only coming ashore to breed.
145		Sanderling Calidris alba	Sandpipers and allies	17,000 birds	11	0
The sanderling is a small, plump, energetic wading bird. It has a short straight black bill and medium length black legs. It is pale grey above and white underneath, and there is a black mark at its shoulder where the folded wing meets the body. It does not breed in the UK, but is a winter visitor and passage migrant in spring and autumn, journeying to and from their high Arctic breeding grounds.
146		Ptarmigan Lagopus mutus	Grouse	2,000-15,000 pairs	1	0
The ptarmigan is a plump gamebird, slightly larger than a grey partridge. In summer, is a mixture of grey, brown and black above with white bellies and wings. In winter, it becomes totally white except for its tail and eye-patch, which remain black. It breeds in the highest mountains of the Highlands of Scotland on the Arctic like landscape there. Birds are residents, seldom moving far from breeding sites. In severe cold weather, birds may move from the highest ground to the edge of forests.
147		Little grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis	Grebes	17,000 birds	26	0
A small, dumpy grebe which often appears to have a 'fluffy' rear end. It readily dives when disturbed, surfacing unseen some distance away. In summer it has a bright chestnut throat and cheeks and a pale gape patch at the base of the bill. It can be noisy, with a distinctive whinnying trill.
148		White-fronted goose Anser albifrons	Swans, ducks and geese	15,400 birds	7	0
The white-fronted goose is a grey goose, bigger than a mallard and smaller than a mute swan. Adults have a large white patch at the front of the head around the beak and bold black bars on the belly. The legs are orange and Siberian birds have pink bills, while Greenland birds have orange bills. This species does not breed in the UK. Two races visit the UK in winter - birds that breed in Greenland and birds that breed in Siberia. The current wintering areas need protection, including avoiding drainage of traditional wintering areas in southern England.
149		Whooper swan Cygnus cygnus	Swans, ducks and geese	15,000 birds	11	0
The whooper swan is a large white swan, bigger than a Bewick's swan. It has a long thin neck, which it usually holds erect, and black legs. Its black bill has a large triangular patch of yellow on it. It is mainly a winter visitor to the UK from Iceland, although a couple of pairs nest in the north. The estuaries and wetlands it visits on migration and for winter roosts need protection. Its winter population and small breeding numbers make it an Amber List species.
150		Raven Corvus corax	Crows	7,400 pairs	25	0
The raven is a big black bird, a member of the crow family. It is massive - the biggest member of the crow family. It is all black with a large bill, and long wings. In flight, it shows a diamond-shaped tail. Ravens breed mainly in the west and north although they are currently expanding their range eastwards. Most birds are residents, though some birds - especially non-breeders and young birds - wander from their breeding areas but do not travel far.
151		Ring ouzel Turdus torquatus	Chats and thrushes	6,200-7,500 pairs	2	0
Slightly smaller and slimmer than a blackbird - male ring ouzels are particularly distinctive with their black plumage with a pale wing panel and striking white breast band. The ring ouzel is primarily a bird of the uplands, where it breeds mainly in steep sided valleys, crags and gullies, from near sea level in the far north of Scotland up to 1,200m in the Cairngorms. Breeding begins in mid-April and continues through to mid-July, with two broods common, and nests are located on or close to the ground in vegetation (typically in heather), in a crevice, or rarely in a tree. The young are fed a diet consisting mainly of earthworms and beetles.
152		Scottish crossbill Loxia scotica	Finches	6,800 pairs	0	0
The Scottish crossbill is a chunky, thick-set finch with a large head and substantial bill. It is very difficult to distinguish from the other members of the crossbill family. It is the UK's only endemic bird species (ie one found nowhere else in the world).
153		Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos	Chats and thrushes	6,700 males	13	0
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.
154		Purple sandpiper Calidris maritima	Sandpipers and allies	13,000 birds	4	0
The purple sandpiper is a medium-sized wading birds that is larger, stockier and darker than a dunlin. It is mainly dark grey above and whitish below. It has a downcurved beak and short bright orange legs. In flight it shows a thin white wing-stripe. A couple of pairs nest in Scotland, but this species is mainly a winter visitor to almost any rocky coast in the UK. Most are found in Orkney, Shetland and along the east coast of Scotland and northern England - it is scarce south of Yorkshire, other than Devon and Cornwall. The breeding areas in Scotland are kept secret to protect the birds from egg thieves and disturbance.
155		Wood warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix	Warblers and allies	6,500 males	3	0
The attractive but unobtrusive wood warbler is the largest Phylloscopus warbler in Europe. It has bright yellow upper parts, throat and upper chest and white under parts. The species is widespread and numerous in deciduous forest in Europe and reaches its highest densities in the UK in the western oak woods of Wales.
156		Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes	Finches	10-15,000 birds	2	0
The UK's largest finch, it has a massive, powerful bill. Always shy and difficult to see, the hawfinch has become even more enigmatic in recent years with a decline in many of its traditional breeding areas. Numbers are hard to determine, however, as hawfinches are easily overlooked, especially in summer.
157		Snow bunting Plectrophenax nivalis	Buntings	10,000-15,000 birds	4	0
Snow buntings are large buntings, with striking `snowy' plumages. Males in summer have all white heads and underparts contrasting with a black mantle and wing tips. Females are a more mottled above. In autumn and winter birds develop a sandy/buff wash to their plumage and males have more mottled upperparts. Globally they breed around the arctic from Scandinavia to Alaska, Canada and Greenland and migrate south in winter. They are a scarce breeding species in the UK, in Scotland, making tham an Amber List species. They are more widespread in winter in the north and east when residents are joined by continental birds.
158		Goosander Mergus merganser	Swans, ducks and geese	12,000 birds	24	0
These handsome diving ducks are a member of the sawbill family, so called because of their long, serrated bills, used for catching fish. A largely freshwater bird, the goosander first bred in the UK in 1871. It built up numbers in Scotland and then since 1970 it has spread across northern England into Wales, reaching south-west England. Its love of salmon and trout has brought it into conflict with fishermen. It is gregarious, forming into flocks of several thousand in some parts of Europe.
159		Scaup Aythya marila	Swans, ducks and geese	12,000 birds	4	0
Scaup are diving ducks with a resemblance to tufted ducks. Males have black heads, shoulder and breast, white flanks, grey back and a black tail. Females are brown, with characteristic white patches around the base of the bill. In flight they show white patches along the length of the trailing edge of the wing. Only a handful breed in the UK every year, making them our rarest breeding duck.
160		Little owl Athene noctua	Owls	5,700 pairs	4	0
This small owl was introduced to the UK in the 19th century. It can be seen in the daylight, usually perching on a tree branch, telegraph pole or rock. It will bob its head up and down when alarmed. In flight it has long, rounded wings, rapid wingbeats and flies with a slight undulation. Breeding Bird Survey data suggest that Little owl numbers are declining, with the UK population estimated to be down by 24 per cent between 1995 and 2008.
161		Long-tailed duck Clangula hyemalis	Swans, ducks and geese	11,000 birds	0	0
The long-tailed duck is a small, neat sea duck. They have small round heads and steep foreheads. In winter, the male is mainly white with some brownish-black markings. He also has greatly elongated tails feathers - hence the name. Females are browner. In flights, they show all dark wings and white bellies. They do not breed in the UK but protection of their wintering sites is important, because they are vulnerable to oil pollution at sea. A winter visitor and passage migrant to the UK, most common from Northumberland north to northern Scotland.
162		Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus	Waxwings	11,000 birds	8	0
The waxwing is a plump bird, which is slightly smaller than a starling. It has a prominent crest. It is reddish-brown with a black throat, a small black mask round its eye, yellow and white in the wings and a yellow-tipped tail. It does not breed in the UK, but is a winter visitor, in some years in larger numbers, called irruptions, when the population on its breeding grounds gets too big for the food available.
163		Black grouse Tetrao tetrix	Grouse	<5,100 males	3	0
The all-black males have distinctive red wattle over the eye and show a striking white stripe along each wing in flight. They have a lyre-shaped tail which is fanned out and raised to show white under-tail feathers when displaying. The smaller grey-brown females have a slightly notched tail. Habitat loss and overgrazing have resulted in severe population declines which make this a Red List species. Positive habitat management is helping them to increase in some areas.
164		Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus	Nightjars	4,600 males	1	0
Nightjars are nocturnal birds and can be seen hawking for food at dusk and dawn. With pointed wings and a long tails their shape is similar to a kestrel or cuckoo. Their cryptic, grey-brown, mottled, streaked and barred plumage provides ideal camouflage in the daytime. They have an almost supernatural reputation with their silent flight and their mythical ability to steal milk from goats. The first indication that a nightjar is near is usually the male's churring song, rising and falling with a ventriloquial quality.
165		Red-breasted merganser Mergus serrator	Swans, ducks and geese	9,000 birds	7	0
These handsome diving ducks belong to the sawbill family, so called because of their long, serrated bills, used for catching fish. Their diet of fish such as salmon and trout has brought them into conflict with game fishermen. At home on both fresh- and saltwater, red-breasted mergansers are most commonly seen around the UK's coastline in winter. They are gregarious, forming flocks of several hundred in the autumn.
166		Kingfisher Alcedo atthis	Kingfishers	3,800-4,600 pairs	31	2
Kingfishers are small unmistakable bright blue and orange birds of slow moving or still water. They fly rapidly, low over water, and hunt fish from riverside perches, occasionally hovering above the water's surface. They are a vulnerable to hard winters and habitat degradation through pollution or unsympathetic management of watercourses. Kingfishers are amber listed because of their unfavourable conservation status in Europe.
167		Long-eared owl Asio otus	Owls	1,800-6,000 pairs	2	0
The long-eared owl is medium-sized owl, smaller in size than a woodpigeon. It often looks long and thin, with head feathers (known as ear tufts even though they are not ears) which it raises when alarmed. It is buff-brown with darker brown streaks, and deep orange eyes. It breeds thinly across the UK with fewer birds in the south-west and Wales. Northern birds migrate southwards, including birds from Europe coming to spend the winter in the UK, while southern birds are residents and only move short distances to find food.
168		Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta	Stilts and avocets	7,500 birds	27	1
A distinctively-patterned black and white wader with a long up-curved beak. It is the emblem of the RSPB and symbolises the bird protection movement in the UK more than any other species. Its return in the 1940s and subsequent increase in numbers represents one of the most successful conservation and protection projects.
169		Crested tit Lophophanes cristatus	Tits	5,200-9,500 birds	5	0
Although not as colourful as some other tits, its 'bridled' face pattern and the upstanding black and white crest make this a most distinctive species. Crested tits feed actively, clinging to trunks and hanging from branches, like most tits, searching for a wide range of invertebrates and pine seeds. They store food extensively during early winter, using it in late winter.
170		Bewicks swan Cygnus columbianus	Swans, ducks and geese	7,000 birds	9	0
Adults are white all over and young birds greyish with a pinkish bill. Compared to the similar whooper swan, these swans have proportionally more black and less yellow on their bill. They're also smaller than both mute and whooper swans and have faster wingbeats.
171		Mandarin Aix galericulata	Swans, ducks and geese	7,000 birds	13	0
The male has the most elaborate and ornate plumage with distinctive long orange feathers on the side of the face, orange 'sails' on the back, and pale orange flanks. The female is dull by comparison with a grey head and white stripe behind the eye, brown back and mottled flanks. They were introduced to the UK from China and have become established following escapes from captivity.
172		Willow tit Poecile montanus	Tits	3,400 pairs	4	0
Between blue and great tits in size, with no yellow, green or blue. It has a large sooty-black cap extending to the back of the neck and a small untidy black bib. It is mid-brown above, with whiter cheeks and pale buff-grey underparts. Its wings show a pale panel not found in marsh tits. Its recent population declines make it a Red List species.
173		Dartford warbler Sylvia undata	Warblers and allies	3,200 pairs	1	0
This small, dark, long-tailed warbler is resident in the UK and has suffered in the past from severe winters. Its population crashed to a few pairs in the 1960s, since when it has gradually recovered, increasing in both numbers and range. It is still regarded as an Amber List species. It will perch on top of a gorse stem to sing, but is often seen as a small flying shape bobbing between bushes.
174		Woodlark Lullula arborea	Larks	3,100 pairs	0	0
It is a streaky brown bird, with a buffy-white eye-stripe which meets across the nape. It has a well developed crest on its crown which is not always conspicuous. In flight the peculiarly short tail and broad, rounded wings are noticeable and the deeply undulating flight with closed wing glides is characteristic. Some UK breeding birds spend the winter on the Continent.
175		Hobby Falco subbuteo	Falcons and allies	2,800 pairs	12	0
About the size of a kestrel with long pointed wings, reminiscent of a giant swift. It has a dashing flight and will chase large insects and small birds like swallows and martins. Prey is often caught in its talons and transferred to its beak in flight. Can accelerate rapidly in flight and is capable of high-speed aerial manoeuvres.
176		Greenshank Tringa nebularia	Sandpipers and allies	4,790 birds (autumn)	8	0
A medium-sized slim wader with a dark grey back and white underparts. Its long green legs and slightly up-turned bill help to distinguish it from other waders. It calls regularly and is seen singly and in small groups.
177		Little egret Egretta garzetta	Bitterns and herons	4,500 birds	55	5
The little egret is a small white heron with attractive white plumes on crest, back and chest, black legs and bill and yellow feet. It first appeared in the UK in significant numbers in 1989 and first bred in Dorset in 1996. Its colonization followed naturally from a range expansion intro western and northern France in previous decades. It is now at home on numerous south coast sites, both as a breeding species and as a winter visitor.
178		Arctic skua Stercorarius parasiticus	Skuas	2,136 pairs	4	0
A medium-sized dark-looking seabird with pointed wings, and pale patches at the wingtips. Often seen flying low and fast above the waves in pursuit of a tern or other bird, sometimes chasing it high into the air, twisting and turning, to make it drop its food. It comes to land only to breed and is aggressive towards intruders into its breeding territory.
179		Cettis warbler Cettia cetti	Warblers and allies	2,000 males	4	0
A small, rather nondescript bird, Cetti's warbler (pronounced chetty) is a skulking bird and can prove very difficult to see. It usually makes its presence known with loud bursts of song and the first glimpse will probably be of a dark, rather stocky warbler with short wings and a full, rounded tail, diving for cover. It is one of the UK's most recent colonists, first breeding here in 1973.
180		Little tern Sterna albifrons	Terns	1,900 pairs	2	0
This delightful chattering seabird is the UK's smallest tern. It is short-tailed and has a fast flight. Its bill is a distinctive yellow with a black tip. It is noisy at its breeding colony where courtship starts with an aerial display involving the male calling and carrying a fish to attract a mate which chases him up high before he descends, gliding with wings in a 'V'. Its vulnerable nesting sites and its decline in Europe make it an Amber List species.
181		Egyptian goose Alopochen aegyptiacus	Swans, ducks and geese	3,400 birds	47	6
Related to the shelduck, this pale brown and grey goose has distinctive dark brown eye-patches and contrasting white wing patches in flight. It was introduced as an ornamental wildfowl species and has escaped into the wild, now successfully breeding in a feral state.
182		Red kite Milvus milvus	Hawks and eagles	1,600 pairs	124	6
This magnificently graceful bird of prey is unmistakable with its reddish-brown body, angled wings and deeply forked tail. It was saved from national extinction by one of the world's longest running protection programmes, and has now been successfully re-introduced to England and Scotland.
183		Peregrine Falco peregrinus	Falcons and allies	1,500 pairs	15	0
The peregrine is a large and powerful falcon. It has long, broad, pointed wings and a relatively short tail. It is blue-grey above, with a blackish top of the head and an obvious black 'moustache' that contrasts with its white face. Its breast is finely spotted. It is swift and agile in flight, chasing prey. The strongholds of the breeding birds in the UK are the uplands of the north and west and rocky seacoasts. Peregrines have suffered illegal killing from gamekeepers and landowners, and been a target for egg collectors, but better legal protection and control of pesticides (which indirectly poisoned birds) have helped the population to recover considerably from a low in the 1960s. Some birds, particularly females and juveniles, move away from the uplands in autumn.
184		Lesser spotted woodpecker Dendrocopos minor	Wrynecks and woodpeckers	1,000-2,000 pairs	3	0
The lesser spotted woodpecker is the smallest and least common of the three woodpeckers that are resident in Britain. The male is distinguished from the female by his bright red crown. It tends to nest and feed higher up and is quieter in its tapping. Usually located by its call, and its drumming. When feeding it creeps along branches and flutters from branch to branch, flying with an undulating flight in the open.
185		Great northern diver Gavia immer	Divers	2,600 birds	6	0
The largest of the UK's divers, it has a bigger, heavier head and bill than its commoner relatives. It is largely a winter visitor to our shores although some non-breeding birds stay off northern coasts in the summer.
186		Velvet scoter Melanitta fusca	Swans, ducks and geese	2,500 birds	1	0
The velvet scoter is a black seaduck. It has a long bill, a thick neck and a pointed tail. In flight, it shows a white patch on the rear of the wing - this can also be seen when birds sitting on the sea flap their wings. This species does not breed in the UK, but is a winter visitor to the east coast, especially in Scotland, Norfolk and north-east England. The large flocks in winter are vulnerable to oil pollution and depleted fish stocks.
187		Little ringed plover Charadrius dubius	Plovers and lapwings	1,200-1,300 pairs	8	0
A small plover with a distinctive black and white head pattern, similar to ringed plover. It has a black beak and pale (not orange) legs. Close views reveal a distinctive yellow eye-ring. In flight it shows a plain brown wing without the white wingbar that ringed plover has. It first bred in the UK in 1938 and since then has successfully colonised a large part of England and Wales thanks to man-made habitats such as gravel pits.
188		Merlin Falco columbarius	Falcons and allies	900-1,500 pairs	4	0
The UK's smallest bird of prey, this compact, dashing falcon has a relatively long, square-cut tail and rather broad-based pointed wings, shorter than those of other falcons. Its wingbeat tends to be rapid with occasional glides, wings held close to the body. Its small size enables it to hover and hang in the breeze as it pursues its prey. In winter the UK population increases as most of the Icelandic breeding birds migrate to our warmer climate. Although recovering from a population crash in the late 20th century it is still on the Amber List.
189		Corncrake Crex crex	Rails	1,200 males	0	0
Corncrakes are related to moorhens, coots and rails but differ from most members of the family in that they live on dry land. They are very secretive, spending most of their time hidden in tall vegetation, their presence only betrayed by their rasping call. In flight their bright chestnut wings and trailing legs are unmistakable. They are summer visitors and migrate to Africa for the winter.
190		Water rail Rallus aquaticus	Rails	1,100 territories	11	0
Smaller and distinctly slimmer than the moorhen, the water rail is a fairly common but highly secretive inhabitant of freshwater wetlands. It has chestnut-brown and black upperparts, grey face and underparts and black-and-white barred flanks, and a long red bill. Difficult to see in the breeding season, it is relatively easier to find in winter, when it is also more numerous and widespread. Although usually secretive they can become confiding but are still far more often heard than seen.
191		Mediterranean gull Larus melanocephalus	Gulls	1,800 birds	9	0
Slightly larger than a black-headed gull, with an all-black head in the breeding season. Adults have white wing-tips and underwings, younger birds have more wing markings. It has a large, slightly drooped beak, bright red when adult. A very rare UK bird until the 1950s, it is widespread in winter and breeding in ever increasing numbers. Its present UK breeding population makes it an Amber List species.
192		Cirl bunting Emberiza cirlus	Buntings	860 territories	2	0
A charming relative of the yellowhammer that is at the limit of its European range in the UK.
193		Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus	Grouse	800-1,900 birds	0	0
A huge woodland grouse, the large black males are unmistakable. They spend a lot of time feeding on the ground, but may also be found in trees, feeding on shoots. localised breeding species, found in Scottish native pinewood, a rare and vulnerable habitat, and in commercial conifer plantations. The UK capercaillie population has declined so rapidly that it is at very real risk of extinction (for the second time) and is a 'Red List' species.
194		Hen harrier Circus cyaneus	Hawks and eagles	617 pairs (and 29 on the Isle of Man) in 2010	10	0
Of the UK's birds of prey, this is the most intensively persecuted. Once predating free-range fowl, earning its present name, its effect on the number of grouse available to shoot is the cause of modern conflict and threatens its survival in some parts of the UK, particularly on the driven grouse moors of England and Scotland. While males are a pale grey colour, females and immatures are brown with a white rump and a long, barred tail which give them the name 'ringtail'. They fly with wings held in a shallow 'V', gliding low in search of food, which mainly consists of meadow pipits and voles. The Orkney population is famous for being polygynous, with males sometimes simultaneously mated to multiple females.
195		Dotterel Charadrius morinellus	Plovers and lapwings	510-750 males	1	0
This medium-sized member of the plover family is unusual in that the adult female is brighter than the male - an indication of their role-reversal in raising the young. Adults have largely grey-brown upperparts and bright chestnut belly, with a white chest band, throat and eyestripe, the latter contrasting with a dark cap. On spring migration they are often seen in groups, or 'trips', at traditional stopping places.
196		Bearded tit Panurus biarmicus	Bearded tit	630 pairs	6	0
A brown, long-tailed bird, usually seen flying rapidly across the top of a reedbed. Males have black 'moustaches' rather than 'beards'. They are sociable and noisy, their 'ping' calls often being the first clue to their presence.
197		Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus	Petrels and shearwaters	Up to 1,200	0	0
Slightly larger than the closely related Manx shearwater, the Balearic shearwater is brown above and dull below. It flies with rapid, shallow wingbeats on stiffly held wings. It will rest on the water, and also plunge-dive for food. Despite breeding in the Balearic Islands, and the south coast of France, it migrates north towards the Bay of Biscay, which is when some birds make it into British waters.
198		Yellow-legged gull Larus michahellis	Gulls	1,100 birds	4	0
The yellow-legged gull has only recently been recognised as a species in its own right, having previously been considered to be a race of herring gull. Adults have darker grey backs and wings than herring gulls, but are paler than lesser black-backed gulls. They have more black in the wing tips than herring gulls and smaller white 'mirrors'. The legs are bright yellow, there is a red ring around the eye and the bill is yellow with a large red spot. In non-breeding plumage, the head is less streaked and whiter than herring gulls. Juvenile yellow-legged gulls are very similar to juvenile lesser black-backed gulls, but tend to be whiter-headed and start to gain a grey 'saddle' on their backs quickly as they moult to first winter plumage. Immature birds gain adult-like characteristics as they mature over the course of five years with the legs turning yellow and dark grey feathers replacing the brown and black immature feathers.
199		Slavonian grebe Podiceps auritus	Grebes	1,100 birds	5	0
Arguably the most attractive of the UK's breeding grebes, with its golden ear tufts and trilling calls. It looks similar to the black-necked grebe in winter but has whiter cheeks which almost meet at the back of the neck. Due to its small breeding population it is an Amber List species.
200		Firecrest Regulus ignicapillus	Warblers and allies	550 territories	0	0
This tiny, restless jewel of a bird vies with the goldcrest for the title of the UK's smallest bird. Compared to the goldcrest, the firecrest is brighter and 'cleaner' looking, with a green back, white belly, bronze 'collar' and a black and white eye-stripe. They have a yellow and black stripe on their heads, which has a bright orange centre in males. Like goldcrests, they move through trees and bushes in search of small insects.
201		Quail Coturnix coturnix	Partridges, quails, pheasants and allies	540 males	1	0
A small gamebird - the combination of its stocky body and long, pointed wings makes it quite distinctive. Its upperparts are brown, streaked and barred with buff, while its underparts are a warm buffy orange. Rarely seen it is more usually heard giving its distinctive 'wet-my lips' call. It is the UK's only migrant gamebird, reaching the northern fringes of the its breeding range here. It is a Amber List species because of a partial recovery from its historical decline as a UK breeding species.
202		Yellow-browed warbler Phylloscopus inornatus	Warblers and allies	Around 1,000 birds	0	0
A small, green warbler similar in size to a goldcrest. The yellow 'eyebrow' is distinctive, as is the coal tit-like call. Yellow-browed warblers breed in Siberia and occur in the UK every year as they migrate south-westwards.
203		Green sandpiper Tringa ochropus	Sandpipers and allies	910 birds	8	0
A very contrasting wader which looks like a large house martin in flight. Its dark, almost black upperparts, pale underparts and white rump are distinctive. It frequently bobs up and down when standing. It often appears nervous and will fly off with a low zig-zagging flight when disturbed.
204		Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus	Sandpipers and allies	400-500 pairs	4	0
The whimbrel is a large wading bird. It has longish legs and a long bill that curves near the tip. It is brownish above and whitish below. In flight, it shows a white 'V' shape up its back from its tail. In the UK, this species only breeds in north Scotland. It is a passage migrant to other areas in spring and autumn on its way from and to its wintering areas in South Africa. The Shetland and Orkney breeding population has been slowly increasing.
205		Golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos	Hawks and eagles	440 pairs	8	0
A huge bird of prey, with only the white-tailed eagle larger in the UK. With its long broad wings and longish tail, it has a different outline to the smaller buzzard. It likes to soar and glide on air currents, holding its wings in a shallow 'V'. Eagles have traditional territories and nesting places which may be used by generations. They have been illegally killed in the past and are still occasionally poisoned, or have their nests robbed.
206		Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax	Crows	370-500 pairs	7	1
While its black plumage identifies it as a crow, the chough (pronounced 'chuff') has a red bill and legs unlike any other member of the crow family. It is restricted to the west of the British Isles. It readily displays its mastery of flight with wonderful aerial displays of diving and swooping. Found in flocks in autumn and winter.
207		Ruff Philomachus pugnax	Sandpipers and allies	820 birds	10	0
The ruff is a medium-sized wading bird. It has a long neck, a small head, a rather short slightly droopy bill and medium-long orange or reddish leg. In flight it shows a faint wing-stripe and oval white patches either side of the tail. It breeds in a very few lowland sites in eastern England, and it appears that numbers are dropping. It is a migrant but in the UK some birds are present all year round. Many young birds from Scandinavia visit the UK in late summer, then migrating on to Africa.
208		Bean goose Anser fabalis	Swans, ducks and geese	730 birds	1	0
The bean goose is one of the 'grey geese'. It tends to be darker and browner than the other species in this group, and to have a darker head and neck. It breeds in north Scandinavia, north Russia and north Asia, and visits Britain in small numbers in autumn and winter. Most of the birds that winter here come from Scandinavia, where the breeding population has declined in the last 20 years. Possible reasons for this decline include increased human disturbance, changes in agriculture and direct persecution.
209		Lapland bunting Calcarius lapponicus	Buntings	710 birds	3	0
Slightly smaller than a reed bunting with a well marked head pattern, chestnut nape and chestnut wing panel. Spends most of its time on the ground and often seen in small flocks. Occasional birds are seen in Scotland in the summer, when males have a striking black crown, face and throat.
210		Goshawk Accipiter gentilis	Hawks and eagles	280-430 pairs	4	0
A large hawk, almost reaching buzzard size. When seen close to it has a fierce expression with bright red eyes and a distinctive white eyebrow. Its broad wings enable it to hunt at high speed, weaving in and out of trees, and its long legs and talons can catch its prey in flight. The female is substantially larger than the male. In late winter and spring it has a 'sky-dance' display. Goshawks are still persecuted and their nests are frequently robbed.
211		Short-toed treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla	Treecreepers	200-500 pairs (Jersey)	0	0
The short-toed treecreeper is a small tree-dwelling bird with a long, slender, downcurved bill. It is speckly brown above and mainly white below and looks very similar to a treecreeper, although its song is different. It breeds in the Channel Islands and France but is a vagrant to the UK.
212		Marsh harrier Circus aeruginosus	Hawks and eagles	320-380 pairs	23	0
The largest of the harriers, it can be recognised by its long tail and light flight with wings held in a shallow 'V'. It is distinguishable from other harriers by its larger size, heavier build, broader wings and absence of white on the rump. Females are larger than males and have obvious creamy heads. Its future in the UK is now more secure than at any time during the last century but historical declines and subsequent recovery means it is an Amber List species.
213		Stone-curlew Burhinus oedicnemus	Stone-curlews	350 pairs	5	0
A strange, rare summer visitor to southern England, the stone-curlew is a crow-sized bird with a large head, long yellow legs and relatively long wings and tail. Active at night, and its large yellow eyes enable it to locate food when it is dark. It is not related to curlews and gets its name from its curlew-like call.
214		Curlew sandpiper Calidris ferruginea	Sandpipers and allies	670 birds	5	0
Similar to a dunlin, but in autumn it looks cleaner and paler with a white eyestripe. It has a longer, more down-curved bill than a dunlin and will feed in slightly deeper water. Deep chestnut breeding plumage unmistakable in spring and summer. In flight it shows a bright white rump.
215		Little gull Larus minutus	Gulls	400-800	5	0
A small, dainty gull. Adults in summer have black heads, while young birds have a black mark on each wing which forms a 'W' pattern. In flight adults show a pale grey upperwing, with no black wingtips, and a very dark grey underwing.
216		Bittern Botaurus stellaris	Bitterns and herons	600 birds	8	0
A thickset heron with all-over bright, pale, buffy-brown plumage covered with dark streaks and bars. It flies on broad, rounded, bowed wings. A secretive bird, very difficult to see, as it moves silently through reeds at water's edge, looking for fish. The males make a remarkable far-carrying, booming sound in spring. Its dependence on reedbeds and very small population make it a Red List species - one of the most threatened in the UK.
217		Black-throated diver Gavia arctica	Divers	560 birds	3	0
These streamlined diving birds sit low in the water and dive with consummate ease. On land they are clumsy, barely able to walk with their legs so far back on their bodies. They are easily disturbed when breeding and their vulnerability to marine pollution make them a vulnerable as well as rare breeding species.
218		Spotted redshank Tringa erythropus	Sandpipers and allies	540 birds	5	0
The spotted redshank is a medium sized elegant wading bird, slightly larger than a redshank. In summer plumage the adults are almost entirely black, save for some white `spotting' on the wings, a white `wedge' on the back showing clearly in flight, and a barred tail. In winter they have a grey back, and paler under parts, with a more prominent eye stripe than a redshank and lacking a redshank's white wing bars. They migrate from northern European across and northern Siberian breeding areas, to winter in Europe, Africa, China and South-east Asia. They are a relatively scarce wintering species in the UK, with over half the population found at fewer than ten sites, making them an Amber List species.
219		Black tern Chlidonias niger	Terns	Hundreds	2	0
A small tern with an all-black head and body, contrasting with grey wings, back and tail in spring; autumn birds have grey upperparts, white underparts and distinctive black head markings. Feeds by dipping down and picking food from the surface of water. Has occasionally bred in the UK.
220		Great shearwater Puffinus gravis	Petrels and shearwaters	Hundreds to thousands	0	0
A large shearwater, about the same size as a fulmar. It has dark grey-brown upperparts and pale underparts with a distinctive dark cap and pale neck, as well as dark underwing edges.
221		Little stint Calidris minuta	Sandpipers and allies	460	4	0
The little stint is a tiny wading bird with a short straight fine black bill and medium-length black legs. It is brownish-grey above (grey in winter) and it is very white underneath. Autumn birds have two pale stripes or 'braces' down the back. It does not breed in the UK, but is a passage migrant, with most birds being juveniles seen in autumn. It is much scarcer in spring, when small numbers of adults are seen, and a very few birds spend the winter here, most migrating to Africa. Often seen with feeding dunlin.
222		Osprey Pandion haliaetus	Osprey	200-250 pairs	16	0
Seen in flight from below the osprey has white or slightly mottled underparts. The long wings are angled, bending at the 'wrist' which has a black patch contrasting with the white wing linings, and at a distance it could be mistaken for a large gull. This spectacular fish-eating bird of prey is an Amber List species because of its historical decline (due to illegal killing), and low breeding numbers.
223		Black redstart Phoenicurus ochruros	Chats and thrushes	400 birds	1	0
The black redstart is a small robin-sized bird that has adapted to live at the heart of industrial and urban centres. Its name comes from the plumage of the male, which is grey-black in colour with a red tail. With fewer than 100 breeding pairs in the UK, the black redstart is on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern.
224		Bluethroat Luscinia svecica	Chats and thrushes	85-600	0	0
A small robin-like bird, the male is unmistakable in spring with his bright blue throat, bordered below with bands of black, white and chestnut. Its central throat spot can be white or chestnut, depending on which subspecies you are looking at -'white-spotted' or the more numerous 'red-spotted'. They can be quite secretive, flicking into the cover of a bush with a flash of their chestnut tail patches.
225		Red-crested pochard Netta rufina	Swans, ducks and geese	320 birds	11	0
Larger than a pochard, the male has an orange-brown head with a red beak and pale flanks. Females are brown with pale cheeks. In flight they show whitish primaries. They dive, dabble and up-end for their food. There is a large population in Spain and nearer but smaller numbers in France, Netherlands and Germany - and occasional wild birds may come to the UK from the Continent. The UK breeding birds almost certainly all come from escaped birds.
226		Mealy redpoll Carduelis flammea	Finches	310 birds	4	0
The mealy redpoll is a small finch. It is larger and paler than the very similar lesser redpoll. It is streaky brown above and whitish below with black streaks. It shows two white lines on the folded wing. It does not breed in the UK, but is a passage migrant and winter visitor, particularly to the east coast.
227		Wryneck Jynx torquilla	Wrynecks and woodpeckers	280 birds	1	0
Wrynecks are small sparrow-sized birds, appearing greyish overall, with brown and buff mottling. They have a contrasting dark band running down from the back of the head onto the back. They feed almost exclusively on ants and unlike other woodpeckers, are seen mainly on the ground, and do not often climb up vertical trunks or branches.
228		Red-backed shrike Lanius collurio	Shrikes	250 birds	1	0
Red-backed shrikes are slightly larger, but slimmer, than house sparrows. The male is unmistakable with a bluish-grey head, black mask, bright chestnut back and thick hooked black bill. Shrikes like to perch prominently on the tops of bushes, fence posts and telephone wires, where they have a good view of potential prey. Items caught are then taken to a larder where they are impaled on a thorn or wedged in a fork. Its dramatic decline to virtual extinction as a UK breeding species make this a Red List bird.
229		Iceland gull Larus glaucoides	Gulls	240 birds	1	0
A medium-size gull, smaller than most herring gulls. It has a rounded head and smallish beak, giving it a dove-like expression. It has very pale plumage and white wing tips, and, like the glaucous gull, it is sometimes referred to as a 'white-winged' gull. It is a winter visitor, with small numbers of birds, usually seen singly. It breeds in the Arctic and winters as far south as New York and Britain.
230		Water pipit Anthus spinoletta	Pipits and wagtails	190 birds	1	0
The water pipit is a large and stocky pipit. It is greyish-brown above and pale below with streaks on its breast. It has a pale stripe over its eye, a slender bill and dark legs. It does not breed in the UK, but is a winter visitor, mainly to southern and eastern England. It breeds in the Alps and other mountains of central and southern Europe.
231		Smew Mergus albellus	Swans, ducks and geese	180 birds	11	0
The smew is a small compact diving duck with a delicate bill. The male is white with a black mask and a black back, the female is grey with a reddish-brown head and white cheek. In flight, it shows black and white wings. It is a winter visitor in small numbers from Scandinavia and Russia. Sometimes birds move here from Holland and Denmark to escape freezing weather there. Little is known about this bird on its breeding grounds.
232		Roseate tern Sterna dougallii	Terns	89 pairs	1	0
Similar in size to a common tern but very white-looking, with long tail-streamers, a black cap and a black beak with a reddish base. In summer adults have a pinkish tinge to their underparts which gives them their name. It is one of our rarest seabirds and whose severe, long-lasting and well documented decline make it a Red List species.
233		Glaucous gull Larus hyperboreus	Gulls	170 birds	1	0
A large pale gull with white wing tips. Younger birds are creamy white or more biscuit coloured, depending on age. All have pale wingtips. It is bigger than a herring gull and bulkier, with a fiercer expression, larger beak and squarer head than the smaller but virually identically-plumaged plumaged Iceland gull.
234		Spotted crake Porzana porzana	Rails	80 males	0	0
The spotted crake is only the size of a starling. Breeding adults have a brown back with dark streaks, a blue-grey face and an olive-brown breast - all covered with white flecks and spots. The under tail is a warm buff colour. Spotted crakes tend to skulk in thick cover and walk with their body close to the ground and tail flicking. They swim with a jerky action like that of the moorhen. If surprised in the open, they run for cover or jump up and flutter away with legs dangling.
235		Golden pheasant Chrysolophus pictus	Partridges, quails, pheasants and allies	50-100 pairs	1	0
Smaller than a pheasant, the male is very brightly coloured with a yellow crown and lower back, dark wings and upper neck, red underparts and long finely barred tail. female is paler brown than a female pheasant. It is a shy bird, keeping to dark, dense woodland. Roosts in trees at night.
236		Black-necked grebe Podiceps nigricollis	Grebes	130 birds	5	0
This small grebe has beautiful golden tufts of feathers on its face, contrasting with its black head and neck. Its steep forehead makes its head look 'peaked'. A rare breeding bird, it is also uncommon in winter.
237		Parrot crossbill Loxia pytyopstittacus	Finches	65 pairs	0	0
The parrot crossbill is a large, powerful finch. It has a deep parrot-like bill and a sharply forked tail. The male is orange to red with dusky wings and tail, the female is olive-green or grey. It is very similar to the crossbill and scottish crossbill: the bill structure and the distinctive, deeper call is the most reliable way to separate them. Irrupts into Britain some years from Europe after the corn crop has failed there and has bred away from its stronghold in Abernethy Forest.
238		Garganey Anas querquedula	Swans, ducks and geese	14-93 pairs	3	0
The garganey is a scarce and very secretive breeding duck in the UK. It is smaller than a mallard and slightly bigger than a teal. The male is most easily recognised with a broad white stripe over the eye. In flight it shows a pale blue forewing. It feeds by 'dabbling'.
239		Honey buzzard Pernis apivorus	Hawks and eagles	33-69 pairs	2	0
The honey buzzard is a large bird of prey that is similar to the buzzard. It has got broad wings and a long tail. The plumage is very variable across all ages; typical adults are greyish-brown on its upperparts and whitish underparts. The nest sites of British breeding birds are usually kept secret to protect them from egg collectors. Numbers are increasing, perhaps as a result of upland conifer forest maturing. It is a summer visitor to its breeding sites and spends the winter in Africa.
240		Temmincks stint Calidris temminckii	Sandpipers and allies	100 birds	4	0
This is a tiny, greyish-brown wading bird with a white belly. The bill is short and used for probing into muddy shorelines.
241		Hoopoe Upupa epops	Hoopoe	100 birds	1	0
The hoopoe is an exotic looking bird that is the size of a mistle thrush. It has a pinkish-brown body, striking black and white wings, a long black downcurved bill, and a long pinkish-brown crest which it raises when excited. It does not breed in the UK, but as many as 100 birds can turn up in spring (mostly seen as single birds) as birds migrating north to Europe from Africa overshoot and land on the south coast of England.
242		Cattle egret Bubulcus ibis	Bitterns and herons	c100	0	0
Slightly smaller but much rarer than the little egret, cattle egrets are visiting the UK in increasing numbers. They often spend time close to livestock and grab insects and worms that their hooves disturb. Cattle egrets have yellow or greyish legs and a yellow beak, compared to the black legs (with yellow feet) and black beak of the little egret.
243		Golden oriole Oriolus oriolus	Orioles	85 birds	0	0
Blackbird-sized the male has an unmistakable bright yellow body with black wings. A secretive bird which keeps to the high tree canopy, it can be heard, most often at dawn, giving its distinctive fluting whistle. It flies rather like a thrush - slightly undulating.
244		White-tailed eagle Haliaeetus albicilla	Hawks and eagles	37-44 pairs	1	0
The white-tailed eagle is the largest UK bird of prey. It has brown body plumage with a conspicuously pale head and neck which can be almost white in older birds, and the tail feathers of adults are white. In flight it has massive long, broad wings with 'fingered' ends. Its head protrudes and it has a short, wedge-shaped tail. It went extinct in the UK during the early 20th century, due to illegal killing, and the present population has been reintroduced.
245		Rough-Legged Buzzard Buteo Lagopus	Hawks and eagles	Between 10 and 150 (in influx years)	1	0
A bird of prey very similar to the much more common buzzard, though only a small number spend winter in the UK. It has the habit of 'hanging' in the air while looking for prey, hovering much more regularly than common buzzards. Key features include the black-tipped white tail, paler appearance than common buzzard, longer wings and paler head. Beware of pale common buzzards - a notoriously variable species. A close view will reveal the heavily feathered legs that give this bird its name.
246		Shorelark Eremophila alpestris	Larks	74 birds	0	0
A distinctive lark with yellow and black face markings and black 'horns' (feather tufts) in breeding plumage. They are almost exclusively coastal birds. Numbers vary greatly from one winter to the next. In a good year, a few hundred may be present, but in others they can be very scarce. Watch for them shuffling their way across shingle and sandy beaches.
247		Great Grey Shrike Lanius excubitor	Shrikes	63 birds	1	0
The great grey shrike is the largest of the European shrikes. Small numbers come to the UK in autumn and spend the winter here. They are very territorial so you're unlikely to see more than one at once. Shrikes are often 'mobbed' by other birds which recognise them as dangerous predators. Keep an eye out for a medium-sized, long-tailed bird sitting at the top of a tree. The black mask and grey plumage are distinctive.
248		Ruddy duck Oxyura jamaicensis	Swans, ducks and geese	60 birds	9	0
Ruddy ducks are small, stout freshwater diving ducks with broad, short wings and narrow, stiff tails. The male ruddy duck has a bright chestnut body, black crown, white cheeks and blue bill. They swim buoyantly, often with the tail cocked up, and can also gradually submerge without diving. They hardly ever leave the water, being very ungainly on land. This species is subject to a Government-led eradication programme. As a result, the UK population of ruddy ducks now stands at fewer than 150 individuals.
249		Red-necked grebe Podiceps grisegena	Grebes	57 birds	0	0
Like all grebes it is an expert swimmer and diver. In winter plumage it is similar to a great crested grebe but has has a thicker neck, and a stout dark bill with a yellow base. It has a brown body, a black crown with whitish cheeks and, in summer, a red neck and breast. Breeding has been suspected in the UK but the potential sites are kept secret and birds given special protection to protect them. Fewer than 20 individuals spend the summer in the UK each year, with numbers increasing slightly in the winter when birds move here from colder Europe.
250		Crane Grus grus	Cranes	52 birds	7	0

Rank

Bird

Family

Population (at most)

All twitcher sightings

Total

2024

Wren
Troglodytes troglodytes

Wrens

8,600,000 territories

The wren is a tiny brown bird, although it is heavier, less slim, than the even smaller goldcrest. It is dumpy, almost rounded, with a fine bill, quite long legs and toes, very short round wings and a short, narrow tail which is sometimes cocked up vertically. For such a small bird it has a remarkably loud voice. It is the commonest UK breeding bird, although it suffers declines during prolonged, severely cold winters.

Blue tit
Cyanistes caeruleus

Tits

15 million birds

A colourful mix of blue, yellow, white and green makes the blue tit one of our most attractive and most recognisable garden visitors. In winter, family flocks join up with other tits as they search for food. A garden with four or five blue tits at a feeder at any one time may be feeding 20 or more.

Robin
Erithacus rubecula

Chats and thrushes

6,700,000 territories

101

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.

Blackbird
Turdus merula

Chats and thrushes

10-15 million birds

158

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.

Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebs

Finches

6,200,000 territories

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.

Woodpigeon
Columba palumbus

Pigeons and doves

5,400,000 pairs

182

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.

House sparrow
Passer domesticus

Sparrows

5,300,000 pairs

Noisy and gregarious, these cheerful exploiters of man's rubbish and wastefulness, have managed to colonise most of the world. The ultimate avian opportunist perhaps. Monitoring suggests a severe decline in the UK house sparrow population, recently estimated as dropping by 71 per cent between 1977 and 2008 with substantial declines in both rural and urban populations. Whilst the decline in England continues, Breeding Bird Survey data indicate recent population increases in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Dunnock
Prunella modularis

Accentors

2,500,000 territories

A small brown and grey bird. Quiet and unobtrusive, it is often seen on its own, creeping along the edge of a flower bed or near to a bush, moving with a rather nervous, shuffling gait, often flicking its wings as it goes. When two rival males come together they become animated with lots of wing-flicking and loud calling.

Great tit
Parus major

Tits

2,500,000 territories

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 birdtable, fighting off smaller tits. In winter it joins with blue tits and others to form roaming flocks which scour gardens and countryside for food.

Willow warbler
Phylloscopus trochilus

Warblers and allies

2,400,000 territories

Willow warblers are small birds with grey-green backs and pale under parts. They have a yellow tinged chest and throat and pale supercillium (the stripe above the eye). They are separated from the very similar chiffchaff by their song. Their population, especially in southern Britain, has undergone a moderate decline over the past 25 years making them an Amber List species.

Pheasant
Phasianus colchicus

Partridges, quails, pheasants and allies

2.3 million females

112

A large, long-tailed gamebird. Males have rich chestnut, golden-brown and black markings on body and tail, with a dark green head and red face wattling. Females are mottled with paler brown and black. They were introduced to the UK long ago and more recent introductions have brought in a variety of races and breeds for sport shooting.

Meadow pipit
Anthus pratensis

Pipits and wagtails

2,000,000 territories

A small, brown, streaky bird, it is the commonest songbird in upland areas and its high, piping call is a familiar sound. In flight it shows white outer tail feathers and in the breeding season it has a fluttering 'parachute' display flight. In winter they are quite gregarious and gather in small flocks, often invisible among the vegetation, suddenly flying up with typical jerky flight. Meadow pipit numbers in the UK have been declining since the mid-1970s, resulting in this species being included on the amber list of conservation concern.

Goldcrest
Regulus regulus

Warblers and allies

3-5 million birds

With the firecrest, the goldcrest is the UK's smallest bird. They're dull greyish-green with a pale belly and a black and yellow stripe on their heads, which has an orange centre in males. Their thin beak is ideally suited for picking insects out from between pine needles.

Greenfinch
Carduelis chloris

Finches

1,700,000 pairs

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 regular garden visitor, able to take advantage of food in rural and urban gardens. Although quite sociable, they may squabble among themselves or with other birds at the bird table. Greenfinch populations declined during the late 1970s and early 1980s, but increased dramatically during the 1990s. A recent decline in numbers has been linked to an outbreak of trichomonosis, a parasite-induced disease which prevents the birds from feeding properly.

Skylark
Alauda arvensis

Larks

1,500,000 territories

The skylark is a small brown bird, somewhat larger than a sparrow but smaller than a starling. It is streaky brown with a small crest, which can be raised when the bird is excited or alarmed, and a white-sided tail. The wings also have a white rear edge, visible in flight. It is renowned for its display flight, vertically up in the air. Its recent and dramatic population declines make it a Red List species.

Jackdaw
Corvus monedula

Crows

1,400,000 pairs

110

This is a small, black crow with a distinctive silvery sheen to the back of its head. The pale eyes are also noticeable.

Chiffchaff
Phylloscopus collybita

Warblers and allies

1,200,000 territories

A small olive-brown warbler which actively flits through trees and shrubs, with a distinctive tail-wagging movement. Less bright than the similar willow warbler and readily distinguished by its song, from where it gets its name. Picks insects from trees and also flies out to snap them up in flight.

Blackcap
Sylvia atricapilla

Warblers and allies

1,200,000 territories

A distinctive greyish warbler, the male has a black cap, and the female a chestnut one. Its delightful fluting song has earned it the name 'northern nightingale'. Although primarily a summer visitor birds from Germany and north-east Europe are increasingly spending the winter in the UK.

Song thrush
Turdus philomelos

Chats and thrushes

1,144,000 territories

A familiar and popular garden songbird whose numbers are declining seriously, especially on farmland making it a Red List species. Smaller and browner than a mistle thrush with smaller spotting. Its habit of repeating song phrases distinguish it from singing blackbirds. It likes to eat snails which it breaks into by smashing them against a stone with a flick of the head.

Whitethroat
Sylvia communis

Warblers and allies

1,100,000 territories

The whitethroat is a medium-sized warbler, about the size of a great tit. It has quite a long tail which it flicks and cocks as it darts rapidly in and out of cover. The male has a grey head, a white throat and a brown back, and is buff underneath. It is a summer visitor and passage migrant, with birds breeding widely, although it avoids urban and mountainous areas. It winters in Africa, south of the Sahara.

Rook
Corvus frugilegus

Crows

1,100,000 pairs

Bare, greyish-white face, thinner beak and peaked head make it distinguishable from the carrion crow. Rooks are very sociable birds, and you're not likely to see one on its own. They feed and roost in flocks in winter, often together with jackdaws.

Black-headed gull
Larus ridibundus

Gulls

2.2 million birds

Not really a black-headed bird, more chocolate-brown - in fact, for much of the year, it has a white head. It is most definitely not a 'seagull' and is found commonly almost anywhere inland. Black-headed gulls are sociable, quarrelsome, noisy birds, usually seen in small groups or flocks, often gathering into larger parties where there is plenty of food, or when they are roosting.

Carrion crow
Corvus corone

Crows

1,000,000 territories

111

The all-black carrion crow is one of the cleverest, most adaptable of our birds. It is often quite fearless, although it can be wary of man. They are fairly solitary, usually found alone or in pairs. The closely related hooded crow has recently been split as a separate species. Carrion crows will come to gardens for food and although often cautious initially, they soon learn when it is safe, and will return repeatedly to take advantage of whatever is on offer.

Collared dove
Streptopelia decaocto

Pigeons and doves

990,000 pairs

Collared doves are a pale, pinky-brown grey colour, with a distinctive black neck collar (as the name suggests). They have deep red eyes and reddish feet. Their monotonous cooing will be a familiar sound to many of you. Although you'll often see them on their own or in pairs, flocks may form where there is a lot of food available.

Guillemot
Uria aalge

Auks

950,000 pairs

The UK's coasts have many stretches of sheer cliffs where seabirds breed and the guillemot is one of the most numerous birds in the great 'seabird cities'. It comes to land only to nest, spending the rest of its life at sea, where it is vulnerable to oil spills. Dark brown and white, not as black as the similar razorbill, it has a 'bridled' form with a white ring round the eye and stripe behind it.

Swallow
Hirundo rustica

Swallows and martins

860,000 territories

Swallows are small birds with dark, glossy-blue backs, red throats, pale underparts and long tail streamers. They are extremely agile in flight and spend most of their time on the wing. They are widespread breeding birds in the Northern Hemisphere, migrating south in winter. Swallow numbers in the UK have fluctuated over the last 30 years with pronounced regional variation in trends. The species is amber listed due to population declines across Europe.

Fulmar
Fulmarus glacialis

Petrels and shearwaters

1.6-1.8 million birds

Almost gull-like, this grey and white seabird is related to the albatrosses. It flies low over the sea on stiff wings, with shallow wingbeats, gliding and banking to show its white underparts then grey upperparts. At its breeding sites it will fly high up the cliff face, riding the updraughts. They will feed in flocks out at sea. They defend their nests from intruders by spitting out a foul-smelling oil.

Starling
Sturnus vulgaris

Starlings

804,000 territories

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.

Coal tit
Periparus ater

Tits

760,000 territories

Not as colourful as some of its relatives, the coal tit has a distinctive grey back, black cap, and white patch at the back of its neck. Its smaller, more slender bill than blue or great tits means it can feed more successfully in conifers. A regular visitor to most peanut feeders, they will take and store food for eating later. In winter they join with other tits to form flocks which roam through woodlands and gardens in search of food.

Yellowhammer
Emberiza citrinella

Buntings

710,000 territories

Males are unmistakeable with a bright yellow head and underparts, brown back streaked with black, and chestnut rump. In flight it shows white outer tail feathers. Often seen perched on top of a hedge or bush, singing. Its recent population decline make it a Red List species.

Woodcock
Scolopax rusticola

Sandpipers and allies

1.4 million birds

The woodcock is a large bulky wading bird with short legs, and a very long straight tapering bill. It is largely nocturnal, spending most of the day in dense cover. Most of the birds in the UK are residents; in the autumn birds move to the UK from Finland and Russia to winter here. The breeding population has been falling recent years, perhaps because of less habitat as conifer plantations become too mature for woodcocks to find open enough breeding areas.

Magpie
Pica pica

Crows

600,000 territories

148

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. Magpies seem to be jacks of all trades - scavengers, predators and pest-destroyers, their challenging, almost arrogant attitude has won them few friends. Non-breeding birds will gather together in flocks.

Puffin
Fratercula arctica

Auks

580,799 pairs

An unmistakable bird with its black back and white underparts, and distinctive black head with large pale cheeks and a tall, flattened, brightly-coloured bill. Its comical appearance is heightened by its red and black eye-markings and bright orange legs. Used as a symbol for books and other items, this clown among seabirds is one of the world's favourite birds. With half of the UK population at only a few sites it is an Amber List species.

Rock dove
Columba livia

Pigeons and doves

550,000 pairs

The rock dove is the wild ancestor of domestic pigeons the world over, domesticated originally to provide food. Feral pigeons come in all shades, some bluer, others blacker - some are pale grey with darker chequered markings, others an unusual shade of dull brick-red or cinnamon-brown, and still others can be or less white while others look exactly like wild rock doves. In urban areas where the numbers are allowed to increase they can become pests.

Snipe
Gallinago gallinago

Sandpipers and allies

1.1 million birds

Snipe are medium sized, skulking wading birds with short legs and long straight bills. Both sexes are mottled brown above, with paler buff stripes on the back, dark streaks on the chest and pale under parts. They are widespread as a breeding species in the UK, with particularly high densities on northern uplands but lower numbers in southern lowlands (especially south west England). In winter, birds from northern Europe join resident birds. The UK population of snipe has undergone moderate declines overall in the past twenty-five years, with particularly steep declines in lowland wet grassland, making it an Amber List species.

House martin
Delichon urbica

Swallows and martins

510,000 pairs

The house martin is a small bird with glossy blue-black upper parts and pure white under parts. It has a distinctive white rump with a forked tail and, on close inspection, white feathers covering its legs and toes. It spends much of its time on the wing collecting insect prey. The bird's mud nest is usually sites below the eaves of buildings. They are summer migrants and spend their winters in Africa. Although still numerous and widespread, recent moderate declines earn them a place on the Amber List.

Pied wagtail
Motacilla alba

Pipits and wagtails

470,000 pairs

A delightful small, long-tailed and rather sprightly black and white bird. When not standing and frantically wagging its tail up and down it can be seen dashing about over lawns or car parks in search of food. It frequently calls when in its undulating flight and often gathers at dusk to form large roosts in city centres.

Brambling
Fringilla montifringilla

Finches

45,000-1,800,000 birds

Similar in size and shape to the chaffinch, the male has a black head in summer, and an orange breast with white belly. In flight it shows a long white rump. Gregarious in winter, it may form flocks of many thousands and often joins with chaffinches. Numbers can vary between winters depending on food supplies.

Linnet
Carduelis cannabina

Finches

430,000 territories

A small, slim finch, widely distributed, and once very popular as a cage bird because of its melodious song. Males are attractively marked with crimson foreheads and breasts, females much browner. It has an undulating flight, usually twittering as it flies and may be seen in large flocks during the winter. Linnet numbers have dropped substantially over the past few decades, with the UK population estimated to have declined by 57 per cent between 1970 and 2008. Recent Breeding Bird Survey results suggest that while populations in England and Wales continue to decline, those in Scotland and Northern Ireland are currently increasing.

Kittiwake
Rissa tridactyla

Gulls

380,000 pairs

A gentle looking, medium-sized gull with a small yellow bill and a dark eye. It has a grey back and is white underneath. Its legs are short and black. In flight the black wing-tips show no white, unlike other gulls, and look as if they have been 'dipped in ink'. The population is declining in some areas, perhaps due to a shortage of sandeels. After breeding birds move out into the Atlantic where they spend the winter.

Herring gull
Larus argentatus

Gulls

740,000 birds

Herring gulls are large, noisy gulls found throughout the year around our coasts and inland around rubbish tips, fields, large reservoirs and lakes, especially during winter. Adults have light grey backs, white under parts, and black wing tips with white 'mirrors'. Their legs are pink, with webbed feet and they have heavy, slightly hooked bills marked with a red spot. Young birds are mottled brown. They have suffered moderate declines over the past 25 years and over half of their UK breeding population is confined to fewer than ten sites.

Siskin
Carduelis spinus

Finches

369,000 pairs

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.

Fieldfare
Turdus pilaris

Chats and thrushes

720,000 birds

Fieldfares are large, colourful thrushes, much like a mistle thrush in general size, shape and behaviour. They stand very upright and move forward with purposeful hops. They are very social birds, spending the winter in flocks of anything from a dozen or two to several hundred strong. These straggling, chuckling flocks that roam the UK's countryside are a delightful and attractive part of the winter scene.

Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos

Swans, ducks and geese

710,000 birds

110

The mallard is a large and heavy looking duck. It has a long body and a long and broad bill. The male has a dark green head, a yellow bill, is mainly purple-brown on the breast and grey on the body. The female is mainly brown with an orange bill. It breeds in all parts of the UK in summer and winter, wherever there are suitable wetland habitats, although it is scarcer in upland areas. Mallards in the UK may be resident breeders or migrants - many of the birds that breed in Iceland and northern Europe spend the winter here.

Common gull
Larus canus

Gulls

710,000 birds

It looks like a small, gentler version of the herring gull, with greenish legs and a yellow bill. Despite its name, it is not at all common in some inland areas, though often abundant on the coast and in some eastern counties. They are now seen more often in towns and on housing estates in winter.

Redwing
Turdus iliacus

Chats and thrushes

690,000 birds

The redwing is most commonly encountered as a winter bird and is the UK's smallest true thrush. Its creamy strip above the eye and orange-red flank patches make it distinctive. They roam across the UK's countryside, feeding in fields and hedgerows, rarely visiting gardens, except in the coldest weather when snow covers the fields. Only a few pairs nest in the UK.

Long-tailed tit
Aegithalos caudatus

Long-tailed tits

340,000 territories

The long-tailed tit is easily recognisable with its distinctive colouring, a tail that is bigger than its body, and undulating flight. Gregarious and noisy residents, long-tailed tits are most usually noticed in small, excitable flocks of about 20 birds. Like most tits, they rove the woods and hedgerows, but are also seen on heaths and commons with suitable bushes.

Lapwing
Vanellus vanellus

Plovers and lapwings

650,000 birds

Also known as the peewit in imitation of its display calls, its proper name describes its wavering flight. Its black and white appearance and round-winged shape in flight make it distinctive, even without its splendid crest. This familiar farmland bird has suffered significant declines recently and is now an Red List species.

Goldfinch
Carduelis carduelis

Finches

313,000 territories

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.

Manx shearwater
Puffinus puffinus

Petrels and shearwaters

280,000-320,000 pairs

A small shearwater, it has long straight slim wings, and is black above and white below. It flies with a series of rapid stiff-winged flaps followed by long glides on stiff straight wings over the surface of the sea, occasionally banking or 'shearing'. It breeds in colonies in the UK, on offshore islands where it is safe from rats and other ground predators. Birds leave their nest sites in July, to migrate to the coast of South America, where they spend the winter, returning in late February and March.

Sedge warbler
Acrocephalus schoenobaenus

Warblers and allies

290,000 territories

The sedge warbler is a small, quite plump, warbler with a striking broad creamy stripe above its eye, and greyish brown legs. It is brown above with blackish streaks and creamy white underneath. It is a summer visitor, and winters in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. Its song is a noisy, rambling warble compared to the more rhythmic song of the reed warbler.

Moorhen
Gallinula chloropus

Rails

270,000 pairs

Moorhens are blackish with a red and yellow beak and long, green legs. Seen closer-up, they have a dark brown back and wings and a more bluish-black belly, with white stripes on the flanks.

Hooded crow
Corvus cornix

Crows

260,000 pairs

The hooded crow is closely related to the carrion crow, which until recently was regarded as the same species. In areas where the two species overlap there may be some interbreeding with hybrids showing a mixed grey and black body plumage. Like carrion crows, hoodies also feed on dead animals. Unlike crows they can be more sociable in the feeding habits and groups of them may be seen together in fields.

Stock dove
Columba oenas

Pigeons and doves

260,000 territories

Stock doves are similar in plumage and size to rock doves/feral pigeons. They are largely blue-grey with an attractive iridescent bottle green band on the back of the neck. In flight they show black edges to the wing and two partial black bands near their back. Unlike rock doves/feral pigeons they do not have pale rumps. They are widely distributed in the UK, except for parts of northern Scotland and Ireland, with particularly high densities in the English Midlands and South West. Over half their European population is found in the UK.

Reed bunting
Emberiza schoeniclus

Buntings

250,000 territories

Sparrow-sized but slim and with a long, deeply notched tail, the male has a black head, white collar and a drooping moustache. Females and winter males have a streaked head. In flight the tail looks black with broad, white edges.

Wheatear
Oenanthe oenanthe

Chats and thrushes

240,000 pairs

The wheatear is a small mainly ground-dwelling bird. It hops or runs on the ground. It is blue-grey above with black wings and white below with an orange flush to the breast. It has a black cheek. In flight it shows a white rump and a black 'T' shape on its tail. It is a summer visitor and passage migrant. Birds breed mainly in western and northern Britain and western Ireland, although smaller numbers do breed in southern and eastern England. It winters in central Africa.

Red grouse
Lagopus lagopus

Grouse

230,000 pairs

The red grouse is a medium-sized game bird. It has a plump body, a short tail and a lightly hook-tipped bill. It is reddish-brown, with its legs and feet covered in pale feathers. Birds breed in the UK in the uplands of the north and west and are resident all year round, travelling very little in their lives. The population is declining, perhaps linked to diseases and the loss of heather moorland.

Wigeon
Anas penelope

Swans, ducks and geese

450,000 birds

The wigeon is a medium-sized duck with a round head and small bill. The head and neck of the male are chestnut, with a yellow forehead, pink breast and grey body. In flight birds show white bellies and males have a large white wing patch. Birds breed in central and northern Scotland and also in northern England. Many birds visit the UK in winter from Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia. With large numbers of wintering birds at a few UK sites it is an Amber List species.

Nuthatch
Sitta europaea

Nuthatches

220,000 territories

The nuthatch is a plump bird about the size of a great tit that resembles a small woodpecker. It is blue-grey above and whitish below, with chestnut on its sides and under its tail. It has a black stripe on its head, a long black pointed bill, and short legs. It breeds in central and southern England and in Wales, and is resident, with birds seldom travelling far from the woods where they hatch.

Bullfinch
Pyrrhula pyrrhula

Finches

220,000 territories

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 on the buds of various trees in spring and were once a 'pest' of fruit crops.

Gannet
Morus bassanus

Boobies and gannets

220,000 nests

Adults are large and bright white with black wingtips. They are distinctively shaped with a long neck and long pointed beak, long pointed tail, and long pointed wings. At sea they flap and then glide low over the water, often travelling in small groups. They feed by flying high and circling before plunging into the sea. It breeds in significant numbers at only a few localities and so is an Amber List species.

Lesser redpoll
Carduelis cabaret

Finches

220,000 pairs

This tiny finch – only slightly bigger than a blue tit – is streaky and brown with patches of red on its head and sometimes its breast. They like to hang upside down to feed in trees. It has recently been 'split' from the mealy (or common) redpoll, a larger and paler species which is a winter visitor to the UK.

Golden plover
Pluvialis apricaria

Plovers and lapwings

420,000 birds

A medium-sized plover with a distinctive gold and black summer plumage. In winter the black in replaced by buff and white. They typically stand upright and run in short bursts. Very wary on the breeding grounds. In winter they form large flocks which fly in fairly tight formation with rapid, twinkling wingbeats.

Treecreeper
Certhia familiaris

Treecreepers

200,000 territories

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.

Tree sparrow
Passer montanus

Sparrows

200,000 territories

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 people, although in continental Europe they often nest in buildings just like house sparrows. The UK tree sparrow population has suffered a severe decline, estimated at 93 per cent between 1970 and 2008. However, recent Breeding Bird Survey data is encouraging, suggesting that numbers may have started to increase, albeit from a very low point.

Dunlin
Calidris alpina

Sandpipers and allies

360,000 birds

The commonest small wader found along the coast. It has a slightly down-curved bill and a distinctive black belly patch in breeding plumage. It feeds in flocks in winter, sometimes numbering thousands, roosting on nearby fields, saltmarshes and shore when the tide is high.

Pink-footed goose
Anser brachyrhynchus

Swans, ducks and geese

360,000 birds

The pink-footed goose is a medium-sized goose, smaller than a mute swan but bigger than a mallard. It is pinkish grey with a dark head and neck, a pink bill and pink feet and legs. This species does not breed in the UK, but large numbers of birds spend the winter here, arriving from their breeding grounds in Spitsbergen, Iceland and Greenland. Numbers in England are on the increase, particularly in Norfolk, probably due to better protection at winter roosts.

Garden warbler
Sylvia borin

Warblers and allies

170,000 territories

A very plain warbler with no distinguishing features (a feature in itself!). It spends a lot of its time in the cover of trees and bushes and can be more difficult to see than its relative, the blackcap. Despite its name it is not really a garden bird, except in mature gardens next to woods. Its song is similar to that of a blackcap, but has longer mellow phrases.

Jay
Garrulus glandarius

Crows

170,000 territories

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.

Oystercatcher
Haematopus ostralegus

Oystercatchers

340,000 birds

The oystercatcher is a large, stocky, black and white wading bird. It has a long, orange-red bill and reddish-pink legs. In flight, it shows a wide white wing-stripe, a black tail, and a white rump that extends as a 'V' between the wings. Because it eats cockles, the population is vulnerable if cockle beds are overexploited. Breeds on almost all UK coasts; over the last 50 years, more birds have started breeding inland. Most UK birds spend the winter on the coast; where they are joined on the east coast by birds from Norway.

Mistle thrush
Turdus viscivorus

Chats and thrushes

170,000 territories

This is a pale, black-spotted thrush - large, aggressive and powerful. It stands boldly upright and bounds across the ground while in flight, it has long wings and its tail has whitish edges. It is most likely to be noticed perched high at the top of a tree, singing its fluty song or giving its rattling call in flight.

Knot
Calidris canuta

Sandpipers and allies

320,000 birds

The knot is a dumpy, short-legged, stocky wading bird. In winter, It is grey above and white below; in summer the chest, belly and face are brick-red. In flight, it shows a pale rump and a faint wing-stripe. It forms huge flocks in winter which wheel and turn in flight, flashing their pale underwings as they twist and turn. Many knots use UK estuaries as feeding grounds, both on migration and in winter, and therefore the population is vulnerable to any changes such as barrages, sea-level rises and human disturbance. Large numbers of birds visit the UK in winter from their Arctic breeding grounds.

Great spotted woodpecker
Dendrocopos major

Wrynecks and woodpeckers

140,000 pairs

About blackbird-sized and striking black-and-white. It has a very distinctive bouncing flight and spends most of its time clinging to tree trunks and branches, often trying to hide on the side away from the observer. Its presence is often announced by its loud call or by its distinctive spring 'drumming' display. The male has a distinctive red patch on the back of the head and young birds have a red crown.

Razorbill
Alca torda

Auks

130,000 pairs

The razorbill is a medium-sized seabird. It is black above and white below. It has a thick black beak which is deep and blunt, unlike the thinner bill of the similar guillemot. It breeds around the coast of the UK, with the largest colonies in northern Scotland. There are none breeding between the Humber and the Isle of Wight. Birds only come to shore to breed, and winter in the northern Atlantic. The future of this species is linked to the health of the marine environment. Fishing nets, pollution and declining fish stocks all threaten the razorbill.

Reed warbler
Acrocephalus scirpaceus

Warblers and allies

130,000 pairs

The reed warbler is a plain unstreaked warbler. It is warm brown above and buff coloured underneath. It is a summer visitor to breed in the UK, with the largest concentrations in East Anglia and along the south coast - there are relatively few breeding in Scotland and Ireland. It winters in Africa.

Sand martin
Riparia riparia

Swallows and martins

54,000-174,000 nests

Sand martins are the smallest European hirundines (martins and swallows), with dark brown upper parts and dark under wings contrasting with otherwise pale under parts divided by a distinctive dark chest bar. Agile fliers, feeding mainly over water, they will perch on overhead wires or branches. They are gregarious in the breeding season and winter. Over the past 50 years the European population has crashed on two occasions as a result of drought in the birds' African wintering grounds.

Greylag goose
Anser anser

Swans, ducks and geese

228,000 birds

The ancestor of most domestic geese, the greylag is the largest and bulkiest of the wild geese native to the UK and Europe. In many parts of the UK it has been re-established by releasing birds in suitable areas, but the resulting flocks (often mixed with Canada geese) found around gravel pits, lakes and reservoirs all year round in southern Britain tend to be semi-tame and uninspiring. The native birds and wintering flocks found in Scotland retain the special appeal of truly wild geese.

Lesser black-backed gull
Larus fuscus

Gulls

110,000 pairs

Slightly smaller than a herring gull, the lesser black-backed gull has a dark grey to black back and wings, yellow bill and yellow legs. Their world population is found entirely in Europe. After declines in the 19th century due to persecution they increased their range and numbers. This expansion has now halted and there is serious concern about declines in many parts of its range. The species is on the Amber List because the UK is home to 40% of the European population and more than half of these are found at fewer than ten sites.

Teal
Anas crecca

Swans, ducks and geese

220,000 birds

Teals are small dabbling ducks. Males have chestnut coloured heads with broad green eye-patches, a spotted chest, grey flanks and a black edged yellow tail. Females are mottled brown. Both show bright green wing patches (speculum) in flight. They are thinly distributed as a breeding species with a preference for northern moors and mires. In winter birds congregate in low-lying wetlands in the south and west of the UK. Of these, many are continental birds from around the Baltic and Siberia. At this time, the UK is home to a significant percentage of the NW European wintering population making it an Amber List species.

Redstart
Phoenicurus phoenicurus

Chats and thrushes

100,000 pairs

Redstarts are immediately identifiable by their bright orange-red tails, which they often quiver. Breeding males look smart, with slate grey upper parts, black faces and wings, and an orange rump and chest. Females and young are duller. Redstarts 'bob' in a very robin-like manner, but spend little time at ground level. It is included on the Amber List as species with unfavourable conservation status in Europe where it is declining.

Canada goose
Branta canadensis

Swans, ducks and geese

190,000 birds

A large goose, with a distinctive black head and neck and large white throat patch. An introduced species from N America, it has successfully spread to cover most of the UK. It forms noisy flocks and is often regarded as a nuisance in areas where large numbers occur on amenity grassland and parks.

Coot
Fulica atra

Rails

190,000 birds

All-black and larger than its cousin, the moorhen, it has a distinctive white beak and 'shield' above the beak which earns it the title 'bald'. Its feet have distinctive lobed flaps of skin on the toes, which act instead of webs when swimming. It patters noisily over the water before taking off and can be very aggressive towards others.

Tree pipit
Anthus trivialis

Pipits and wagtails

88,000 territories

Tree pipits have brown streaked upper parts and pale under parts with further streaking on buff tinged chest and flanks. They are very similar to meadow pipits but, on close inspection, may be distinguished by their heavier bill, shorter hind claw and fine streaking on the flank - they also have very different calls. Widespread summer visitors to the UK, they occur in particularly high densities in Western uplands. Their population has undergone declines over the past 25 years, especially in central and southern England.

Swift
Apus apus

Swifts

87,000 pairs

The swift is a medium-sized aerial bird, which is a superb flier. It evens sleeps on the wing! It is plain sooty brown, but in flight against the sky it appears black. It has long, scythe-like wings and a short, forked tail. It is a summer visitor, breeding across the UK, but most numerously in the south and east. It winters in Africa.

Red-legged partridge
Alectoris rufa

Partridges, quails, pheasants and allies

82,000 territories

Larger than the grey partridge, it has a large white chin and throat patch, bordered with black. It has a greyish body with bold black flank stripes, and a chestnut-sided tail. It is an introduced species, brought to the UK from continental Europe, where it is largely found in France and Spain.

Curlew
Numenius arquata

Sandpipers and allies

150,000 birds

The curlew is the largest European wading bird, instantly recognisable on winter estuaries or summer moors by its long, downcurved bill, brown upperparts, long legs and evocative call.

Lesser whitethroat
Sylvia curruca

Warblers and allies

74,000 territories

As the name suggests, this warbler is smaller than its cousin the whitethroat. It sports dark cheek feathers that contrast with the pale throat and can give it a 'masked' look. When its flits from cover you might see the white outer feathers of its tail. Lesser whitethroats are hard to see and often only noticed when they give their harsh, rattling song, or 'tacking' call.

Buzzard
Buteo buteo

Hawks and eagles

57,000-79,000 pairs

Now the commonest and most widespread UK bird of prey. It is quite large with broad, rounded wings, and a short neck and tail. When gliding and soaring it will often hold its wings in a shallow 'V' and the tail is fanned. Birds are variable in colour from all dark brown to much paler variations, all have dark wingtips and a finely barred tail. Their plaintive mewing call could be mistaken for a cat.

Redshank
Tringa totanus

Sandpipers and allies

130,000 birds

As its name suggests, redshanks' most distinctive features are their bright orange-red legs. They have a medium-length bill with an orange base to match, brown speckled back and wings and paler belly.

Twite
Carduelis flavirostris

Finches

100,000-150,000 birds (incl. Ireland)

The twite is a small, brown finch closely related to the linnet, but with a longer tail and stubbier bill. Its back is tawny, heavily streaked with dark brown, and is white below with dark-brown streaks on its flanks. The rump is pink on males but brown on females. Like the linnet, it feeds on seeds year-round.

Brent goose
Branta bernicla

Swans, ducks and geese

121,400 birds

A small, dark goose - the same size as a mallard. It has a black head and neck and grey-brown back, with either a pale or dark belly, depending on the race. Adults have a small white neck patch. It flies in loose flocks along the coast, rather than in tight skeins like grey geese. It is an Amber List species because of the important numbers found at just a few sites.

Tufted duck
Aythya fuligula

Swans, ducks and geese

120,000 birds

The tufted duck is a medium-sized diving duck, smaller than a mallard. It is black on the head, neck, breast and back and white on the sides. It has a small crest and a yellow eye. In flight it shows an obvious white stripe across the back of the wing. It breeds in the UK across lowland areas of England, Scotland and Ireland, but less commonly in Wales, with most birds being residents. Numbers increase in the UK in winter because of birds moving to the UK from Iceland and northern Europe.

Stonechat
Saxicola torquata

Chats and thrushes

59,000 pairs

Stonechats are robin sized birds. Males have striking black heads with white around the side of their neck, orange-red breasts and a mottled brown back. Females lack the male's black head, but have brown backs and an orange tinge to their chests. Birds are frequently seen flicking their wings while perched, often doing so on the tops of low bushes. As its name suggests, birds utter a sharp loud call that sound like two stones being tapped together. They breed in western and southern parts of the UK, but disperse more widely in winter.

Jack snipe
Lymnocryptes minimus

Sandpipers and allies

110,000 birds

Smaller than snipe with a shorter bill. It is a secretive bird and when approached it tends to crouch down, relying on its camouflaged plumage, only flying at the last minute. It will fly low and rapidly drop down again, unlike snipe which zig-zags and then flies off high. When feeding it has a characteristic 'bouncing' motion, as if on a spring.

Shag
Phalacrocorax aristotelis

Cormorants and shags

110,000 birds

Shags are goose-sized dark long-necked birds similar to cormorants but smaller and generally slimmer with a characteristic steep forehead. In the breeding season adults develop a dark glossy green plumage and prominent recurved crest on the front of their head. In the UK they breed on coastal sites, mainly in the north and west, and over half their population is found at fewer than 10 sites, making them an Amber List species. Shags usually stay within 100-200km of their breeding grounds.

Arctic tern
Sterna paradisaea

Terns

53,000 pairs

With its long tail streamers and general shape the Arctic tern deserves the local name of 'sea swallow'. Appearing white with a black cap, it is largely coastal although it can be seen inland on migration. It depends on a healthy marine environment and some colonies have been affected by fish shortages. Arctic terns are the ultimate long distance migrants - summer visitors to the UK and winter visitors to the Antarctic.

Green woodpecker
Picus viridis

Wrynecks and woodpeckers

52,000 pairs

The green woodpecker is the largest of the three woodpeckers that breed in Britain. It has a heavy-looking body, short tail and a strong, long bill. It is green on its upperparts with a paler belly, bright yellow rump and red on the top of its head. The black 'moustache' has a red centre in males. They have an undulating flight and a loud, laughing call.

Common scoter
Melanitta nigra

Swans, ducks and geese

100,000 birds

An all dark seaduck, the male is totally black and the female lighter, with a pale face. They are often seen as large bobbing rafts offshore, or long straggling lines flying along the coast. The UK breeding population of this small diving seaduck has substantially declined and it is now a Red List species. Its winter populations are vulnerable to oilspills.

Tawny owl
Strix aluco

Owls

50,000 pairs

The tawny owl is an owl the size of a pigeon. It has a rounded body and head, with a ring of dark feathers around its face surrounding the dark eyes. It is mainly reddish brown above and paler underneath. It is a widespread breeding species in England, Wales and Scotland but not found in Ireland. Birds are mainly residents with established pairs probably never leaving their territories. Young birds disperse from breeding grounds in autumn.

100

Leachs petrel
Oceanodroma leucorhoa

Petrels and shearwaters

48,047 pairs

The leach's petrel is a starling-sized seabird. Birds are all black underneath and mostly black above, apart from a white rump. It has a forked tail. The white rump has a black line down it. Breeds on remote offshore islands to the UK and feed out beyond the Continental shelf. It is specially protected by law and it is important that its breeding colonies are protected from introduced predators such as cats and rats. Spends most of its time at sea, only approaching land to breed and then only at night. Most British and Irish birds migrate in the winter to the tropics, although a few remain in the northern Atlantic.

101

Barnacle goose
Branta leucopsis

Swans, ducks and geese

94,000 birds

A medium-sized, sociable goose, with black head, neck and breast with creamy-white face, which contrasts with the white belly, blue-grey barred back and black tail. It flies in packs and long lines, with a noisy chorus of barking or yapping sounds.

102

Whinchat
Saxicola rubetra

Chats and thrushes

47,000 pairs

The whinchat is a small perching bird. It hops or runs on the ground and often perches on top of low bushes. It has a prominent white stripe above the eye. It is streaky brown above and warm orange-buff on the breast. The whinchat is a summer visitor and passage migrant. Birds breed in upland areas of northern and western Britain with a few in Ireland. It winters in central and southern Africa. Whinchat numbers in Britain more than halved between 1995 and 2008, the cause(s) being unknown.

103

Kestrel
Falco tinnunculus

Falcons and allies

46,000 pairs

A familiar sight with its pointed wings and long tail, hovering beside a roadside verge. Numbers of kestrels declined in the 1970s, probably as a result of changes in farming and so it is included on the Amber List. They have adapted readily to man-made environments and can survive right in the centre of cities.

104

Grey partridge
Perdix perdix

Partridges, quails, pheasants and allies

43,000 territories

A medium-sized, plump gamebird with a distinctive orange face. Flies with whirring wings and occasional glides, showing a chestnut tail. It is strictly a ground bird, never likely to be found in pear trees! Groups of 6-15 (known as coveys) are most usually seen outside the breeding season. Once very common and widespread, it has undergone serious declines throughout most of its range and is a Red List species.

105

Marsh tit
Poecile palustris

Tits

41,000 territories

This is a small, mainly brown bird, with a shiny black cap, dark 'bib' and pale belly. In the UK its identification is made tricky by the very similar appearance of our race of willow tit. They're so hard to identify that ornithologists didn't realise there were two species until 1897!

106

Crossbill
Loxia curvirostra

Finches

40,000 pairs

A chunky finch with a large head and bill which is crossed over at the tips. Most often encountered in noisy family groups or larger flocks, usually flying close to treetop height. It feeds acrobatically, fluttering from cone to cone. Adult males are a distinctive brick-red and females greenish-brown.

107

Mute swan
Cygnus olor

Swans, ducks and geese

79,000 birds

The mute swan is a very large white waterbird. It has a long S-shaped neck, and an orange bill with black at the base of it. Flies with its neck extended and regular slow wingbeats. The population in the UK has increased recently, perhaps due to better protection of this species. The problem of lead poisoning on lowland rivers has also largely been solved by a ban on the sale of lead fishing weights. Some birds stay in their territories all year, while others move short distances and form winter flocks. In cold weather, some birds arrive from Europe into eastern England.

108

Great black-backed gull
Larus marinus

Gulls

77,000 birds

A very large, thick-set black-backed gull, with a powerful beak. Adults are blacker than the smaller lesser black-backed gull. It has a heavy flight and can look quite hunched when perched. It will fight off other gulls and chase them to snatch food.

109

Grey wagtail
Motacilla cinerea

Pipits and wagtails

38,000 pairs

The grey wagtail is more colourful than its name suggests with slate grey upper parts and distinctive lemon yellow under-tail. Its tail is noticeably longer than those of pied and yellow wagtails. They have gradually increased their range in the past 150 years and in the UK have expanded into the English lowlands from the northern and western uplands.

110

Spotted flycatcher
Muscicapa striata

Flycatchers

36,000 territories

At first glance, spotted flycatchers might seem dull brownish-grey and - well - a bit boring. It's better to think of them as beautiful in an understated way. Watch them for a short period and you'll be charmed by their fly-catching antics. Spotted flycatchers fly from a high perch, dash out to grab a flying insect and return to the same spot.

111

Rock pipit
Anthus petrosus

Pipits and wagtails

36,000 pairs

The rock pipit is a large stocky pipit, larger than a meadow pipit and smaller than a starling. It is streaky olive-brown above and dirty white underneath with dark streaking. It breeds around the coast where there are rocky beaches, and most of the birds that breed in the UK are residents, with only the young birds dispersing once they become independent. Some birds arrive here from Norway to spend the winter.

112

Grey plover
Pluvialis squatarola

Plovers and lapwings

70,000 birds in spring

In summer it has silver and black spotted upperparts, a black face, neck and belly and in winter, it loses the black feathers and takes on a browny-grey look. In both plumages, the rump is white and in flight in winter it shows distinctive black 'armpits'. Like most plovers it stands very upright and tends to run and then suddenly stop to feed. It is generally seen in small numbers, although flocks can form when there is a high tide.

113

Sparrowhawk
Accipiter nisus

Hawks and eagles

35,000 pairs

Sparrowhawks are small birds of prey. They're adapted for hunting birds in confined spaces like dense woodland, so gardens are ideal hunting grounds for them. Adult male sparrowhawks have bluish-grey back and wings and orangey-brown bars on their chest and belly. Females and young birds have brown back and wings, and brown bars underneath. Sparrowhawks have bright yellow or orangey eyes, long, yellow legs and long talons. Females are larger than males, as with most birds of prey.

114

Black guillemot
Cepphus grylle

Auks

58-80,000 birds (incl. Ireland)

Its striking black and white plumage and bright red feet make it easy to identify in summer. Unlike most other European auks the black guillemot is typically found in ones and twos, scattered around rocky islets. It is typical of the larger sea lochs of western Scotland, and the northern and western isles, but is also found in Ireland, the Isle of Man and in a handful of spots in England and Wales.

115

Eider
Somateria mollissima

Swans, ducks and geese

63,000 birds

The UK's heaviest duck, and its fastest flying. It is a true seaduck, rarely found away from coasts where its dependence on coastal molluscs for food has brought it into conflict with mussel farmers. Eiders are highly gregarious and usually stay close inshore, riding the swell in a sandy bay or strung out in long lines out beyond the breaking waves. It is an Amber List species because of its winter concentrations.

116

Grey heron
Ardea cinerea

Bitterns and herons

63,000 birds

Grey herons are unmistakeable: tall, with long legs, a long beak and grey, black and white feathering. They can stand with their neck stretched out, looking for food, or hunched down with their neck bent over their chest.

117

Shelduck
Tadorna tadorna

Swans, ducks and geese

61,000 birds

This is a big, colourful duck, bigger than a mallard but smaller than a goose. Both sexes have a dark green head and neck, a chestnut belly stripe and a red bill.

118

Storm petrel
Hydrobates pelagicus

Petrels and shearwaters

25,650 pairs

A little bigger than a sparrow it appears all black with a white rump. Its tail is not forked, unlike Leach's petrel. In flight it flutters over the water, feeding with its wings held up in a 'V' with feet pattering across the waves. At sea it often feeds in flocks and will follow in the wake of ships, especially trawlers.

119

Turnstone
Arenaria interpres

Sandpipers and allies

51,000 birds

Smaller than a redshank, turnstones have a mottled appearance with brown or chestnut and black upperparts and brown and white or black and white head pattern, whilst their underparts are white and legs orange. They spend most of their time creeping and fluttering over rocks, picking out food from under stones.

120

Pochard
Aythya ferina

Swans, ducks and geese

48,000 birds

In winter and spring, male pochards are very distinctive. They have a bright reddish-brown head, a black breast and tail and a pale grey body. Females are more easily confused with other species; they are brown with a greyish body and pale cheeks. However, during the 'eclipse' – when ducks grow new feathers – the males look very similar to the females. They become more camouflaged so that they don't draw the attention of predators.

121

Black-tailed godwit
Limosa limosa

Sandpipers and allies

44,000 birds from the Icelandic population

Black-tailed godwits are large wading birds. In summer, they have bright orangey-brown chests and bellies, but in winter they’re more greyish-brown. Their most distinctive features are their long beaks and legs, and the black and white stripes on their wings. Female black-tailed godwits are bigger and heavier than the males, with a noticeably longer beak (which helps the sexes to avoid competing for food with each other). They’re very similar to bar-tailed godwits, which breed in the Arctic. Black-taileds have longer legs, and bar-taileds don’t have striped wings. As the names suggest, the tail patterns are different, too.

122

Bar-tailed godwit
Limosa lapponica

Sandpipers and allies

41,000 birds

A long-billed, long-legged wading bird which visits UK shores for the winter. Most usually seen in its grey-brown winter plumage, birds in spring may show their full rich chestnut breeding plumage. In flight it shows a white patch stretching from the rump up the back, narrowing to a point. It breeds in the Arctic of Scandinavia and Siberia and hundreds of thousands of them pass through the UK, on their way further south, or stop off here for the winter.

123

Cormorant
Phalacrocorax carbo

Cormorants and shags

41,000 birds

A large and conspicuous waterbird, the cormorant has an almost primitive appearance with its long neck making it appear almost reptilian. It is often seen standing with its wings held out to dry. Regarded by some as black, sinister and greedy, cormorants are supreme fishers which can bring them into conflict with anglers and they have been persecuted in the past. The UK holds internationally important wintering numbers.

124

Pied flycatcher
Ficedula hypoleuca

Flycatchers

17,000-20,000 pairs

The pied flycatcher is a small, flycatching bird, slightly smaller than a house sparrow. The male is mostly black on the upperparts and white underneath, with a bold white patch on the folded wing. Females are browner. It is a summer visitor and breeds mainly in western areas, spending the winter in West Africa.

125

Ringed plover
Charadrius hiaticula

Plovers and lapwings

36,000 birds

The ringed plover is a small, dumpy, short-legged wading bird. It is brownish grey above and whitish below. It has a orange bill, tipped with black, orange legs and a black-and-white pattern on its head and breast. In flight it shows a broad white wing-stripe. Breeds on beaches around the coast, but has also now breeding inland in sand and gravel pits and former industrial sites. Many UK birds live here all year round, but birds from Europe winter in Britain and birds from Greenland and Canada pass through on migration.

126

Cuckoo
Cuculus canorus

Cuckoos

16,000 pairs

The cuckoo is a dove-sized bird with blue grey upper parts, head and chest with dark barred white under parts. With their sleek body, long tail and pointed wings they are not unlike kestrels or sparrowhawks. Sexes are similar and the young are brown. They are summer visitors and well-known brood parasites, the females laying their eggs in the nests of other birds, especially meadow pipits, dunnocks and reed warblers. Their recent population decline makes this a Red List species.

127

Grasshopper warbler
Locustella naevia

Warblers and allies

16,000 pairs

The high, insect-like reeling song of the grasshopper warbler is the best clue to its presence. Even when you hear one it can be difficult to locate it due to the ventriloquial effect of its singing. If seen on migration it moves like a little mouse, creeping through the foliage. Dramatic population declines have made this a Red List species.

128

Common sandpiper
Actitis hypoleucos

Sandpipers and allies

15,000 pairs

A smallish wader with contrasting brown upperparts and white underparts. It habitually bobs up and down, known as 'teetering', and has a distinctive flight with stiff, bowed wings. Its presence is often betayed by its three-note call which it gives as it flies off.

129

Yellow wagtail
Motacilla flava

Pipits and wagtails

15,000 territories

The yellow wagtail is a small, graceful, yellow and green bird, with a medium-length tail and slender black legs. It spends much time walking or running on the ground. As its name implies, it wags its tail from time to time. It is a summer visitor, migrating to winter in Africa. It breeds in a variety of habitats in the UK, including arable farmland, wet pastures and upland hay meadows. Serious declines in breeding numbers accross all of these habitats place the yellow wagtail on the red list of birds of conservation concern.

130

Pintail
Anas acuta

Swans, ducks and geese

29,000 birds

Slightly bigger than a mallard, these long-necked and small-headed ducks fly with a curved back pointed wings and a tapering tail, making this the best way to distinguish them from other ducks in the UK. The pintail is a 'quarry' species, meaning that it can be legally shot in winter, but - unlike in parts of Europe - it does not appear that shooting is affecting their population status in the UK. The small breeding population and significant winter population make them an Amber List species.

131

Turtle dove
Streptopelia turtur

Pigeons and doves

14,000 territories

The turtle dove is a dainty dove, smaller and darker than the collared dove and slightly larger than a blackbird. Its upperparts are distinctively mottled with chestnut and black and its black tail has a white edge. The gentle purr of the turtle dove is an evocative sound of summer, but has become increasingly rare following rapid and sustained population declines. One cause of the decline is thought to be lack of seed and grain as food during the breeding season, resulting in a much shorter breeder season with fewer nesting attempts. The species is now included on the Red List of conservation concern.

132

Short-eared owl
Asio flammeus

Owls

5,000-50,000 birds

Short-eared owls are medium sized owls with mottled brown bodies, pale under-wings and yellow eyes. They are commonly seen hunting during the day. In winter, there is an influx of continental birds (from Scandinavia, Russia, Iceland) to northern, eastern, and parts of central southern England, especially around the coast. They are of European conservation concern and so are an Amber List species.

133

Goldeneye
Bucephala clangula

Swans, ducks and geese

27,000 birds

A medium sized diving duck. Males look black and white with a greenish black head and a circular white patch in front of the yellow eye. Females are smaller, and are mottled grey with a chocolate brown head. In flight, birds show a large area of white on the inner wing. First nested in Scotland in 1970, and since then birds have been attracted to nest in specially designed boxes put up on trees close to water. In winter, birds from Northern Europe visit the UK.

134

Gadwall
Anas strepera

Swans, ducks and geese

25,000 birds

This very grey-coloured dabbling duck, a little smaller than the mallard, and with an obvious black rear end. It shows a white wing patch in flight. When seen close up the grey colour is made up of exquisitely fine barring and speckling. It nests in low numbers in the UK and is an Amber List species.

135

Dipper
Cinclus cinclus

Dippers

6,200-18,700 pairs

A short-tailed, plump bird with a low, whirring flight. When perched on a rock it habitually bobs up and down and frequently cocks its tail. Its white throat and breast contrasts with its dark body plumage. It is remarkable in its method of walking into and under water in search of food.

136

Common tern
Sterna hirundo

Terns

12,000 pairs

These delightful silvery-grey and white birds have long tails which have earned them the nickname 'sea-swallow'. They have a buoyant, graceful flight and frequently hover over water before plunging down for a fish. They are often noisy in company and breed in colonies.

137

Sandwich tern
Sterna sandvicensis

Terns

12,000 pairs

The Sandwich tern is a very white tern, with a black cap on its head, a long black bill with a yellow tip and short black legs. In flight it shows grey wedges on its wings tips and it has a short forked tail. In the UK, many of the important colonies survive because they are on nature reserves.

138

Great crested grebe
Podiceps cristatus

Grebes

23,000 birds

A delightfully elegant waterbird with ornate head plumes which led to its being hunted for its feathers, almost leading to its extermination from the UK. They dive to feed and also to escape, preferring this to flying. On land they are clumsy because their feet are placed so far back on their bodies. They have an elaborate courtship display in which they rise out of the water and shake their heads. Very young grebes often ride on their parents' backs.

139

Corn bunting
Miliaria calandra

Buntings

11,000 territories

This nondescript lowland farmland bird is the largest of the buntings and is most usually seen perched on a wire or post. It is a stout, dumpy bird brown which flies off with a fluttering flight and with its legs characteristically 'dangling'. Its dramatic population decline in the UK makes it a Red List species.

140

Great skua
Catharacta skua

Skuas

9,634 pairs

The great skua is an aggressive pirate of the seas, deliberately harrassing birds as large as gannets to steal a free meal. It also readily kills and eats smaller birds such as puffins. Great skuas show little fear of humans - anybody getting close to the nest will be repeatedly dive-bombed by the angry adult. These birds migrate to the northernmost isles of the UK from their wintering grounds off the coasts of Spain and Africa. At a distance they look stout and dark and show white wing flashes in flight.

141

Barn owl
Tyto alba

Owls

12,500-25,000 birds

With heart-shaped face, buff back and wings and pure white underparts, the barn owl is a distinctive and much-loved countryside bird. Widely distributed across the UK, and indeed the world, this bird has suffered declines through the 20th century and is thought to have been adversely affected by organochlorine pesticides such as DDT in the 1950s and '60s. Nocturnal birds like the barn owl are poorly monitored by the Breeding Bird Survey and, subject to this caveat, numbers may have increased between 1995-2008.

142

Shoveler
Anas clypeata

Swans, ducks and geese

18,000 birds

Shovelers are surface feeing ducks with huge spatulate bills. Males have dark green heads, with white breasts and chestnut flanks. Females are mottled brown. In flight birds show patches of light blue and green on their wings. In the UK they breed in southern and eastern England, especially around the Ouse Washes, the Humber and the North Kent Marshes, and in much smaller numbers in Scotland and western parts of England. In winter, breeding birds move south, and are replaced by an influx of continental birds from further north. The UK is home to more than 20% of the NW European population, making it an Amber List species.

143

Ring-necked parakeet
Psittacula krameri

Parrots

8,600 pairs

The UK's only naturalised parrot - it is large, long-tailed and green with a red beak and a pink and black ring around its face and neck. In flight it has pointed wings, a long tail and very steady, direct flight. Often found in flocks, numbering hundreds at a roost site, it can be very noisy.

144

Red-throated diver
Gavia stellata

Divers

17,000 birds

The smallest of the UK's divers, its grey-brown plumage and up-tilted bill readily distinguish it from the other species. In summer it has a distinctive red throat. They usually jump up to dive and can stay underwater for a minute and a half. They are very ungainly on land, only coming ashore to breed.

145

Sanderling
Calidris alba

Sandpipers and allies

17,000 birds

The sanderling is a small, plump, energetic wading bird. It has a short straight black bill and medium length black legs. It is pale grey above and white underneath, and there is a black mark at its shoulder where the folded wing meets the body. It does not breed in the UK, but is a winter visitor and passage migrant in spring and autumn, journeying to and from their high Arctic breeding grounds.

146

Ptarmigan
Lagopus mutus

Grouse

2,000-15,000 pairs

The ptarmigan is a plump gamebird, slightly larger than a grey partridge. In summer, is a mixture of grey, brown and black above with white bellies and wings. In winter, it becomes totally white except for its tail and eye-patch, which remain black. It breeds in the highest mountains of the Highlands of Scotland on the Arctic like landscape there. Birds are residents, seldom moving far from breeding sites. In severe cold weather, birds may move from the highest ground to the edge of forests.

147

Little grebe
Tachybaptus ruficollis

Grebes

17,000 birds

A small, dumpy grebe which often appears to have a 'fluffy' rear end. It readily dives when disturbed, surfacing unseen some distance away. In summer it has a bright chestnut throat and cheeks and a pale gape patch at the base of the bill. It can be noisy, with a distinctive whinnying trill.

148

White-fronted goose
Anser albifrons

Swans, ducks and geese

15,400 birds

The white-fronted goose is a grey goose, bigger than a mallard and smaller than a mute swan. Adults have a large white patch at the front of the head around the beak and bold black bars on the belly. The legs are orange and Siberian birds have pink bills, while Greenland birds have orange bills. This species does not breed in the UK. Two races visit the UK in winter - birds that breed in Greenland and birds that breed in Siberia. The current wintering areas need protection, including avoiding drainage of traditional wintering areas in southern England.

149

Whooper swan
Cygnus cygnus

Swans, ducks and geese

15,000 birds

The whooper swan is a large white swan, bigger than a Bewick's swan. It has a long thin neck, which it usually holds erect, and black legs. Its black bill has a large triangular patch of yellow on it. It is mainly a winter visitor to the UK from Iceland, although a couple of pairs nest in the north. The estuaries and wetlands it visits on migration and for winter roosts need protection. Its winter population and small breeding numbers make it an Amber List species.

150

Raven
Corvus corax

Crows

7,400 pairs

The raven is a big black bird, a member of the crow family. It is massive - the biggest member of the crow family. It is all black with a large bill, and long wings. In flight, it shows a diamond-shaped tail. Ravens breed mainly in the west and north although they are currently expanding their range eastwards. Most birds are residents, though some birds - especially non-breeders and young birds - wander from their breeding areas but do not travel far.

151

Ring ouzel
Turdus torquatus

Chats and thrushes

6,200-7,500 pairs

Slightly smaller and slimmer than a blackbird - male ring ouzels are particularly distinctive with their black plumage with a pale wing panel and striking white breast band. The ring ouzel is primarily a bird of the uplands, where it breeds mainly in steep sided valleys, crags and gullies, from near sea level in the far north of Scotland up to 1,200m in the Cairngorms. Breeding begins in mid-April and continues through to mid-July, with two broods common, and nests are located on or close to the ground in vegetation (typically in heather), in a crevice, or rarely in a tree. The young are fed a diet consisting mainly of earthworms and beetles.

152

Scottish crossbill
Loxia scotica

Finches

6,800 pairs

The Scottish crossbill is a chunky, thick-set finch with a large head and substantial bill. It is very difficult to distinguish from the other members of the crossbill family. It is the UK's only endemic bird species (ie one found nowhere else in the world).

153

Nightingale
Luscinia megarhynchos

Chats and thrushes

6,700 males

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.

154

Purple sandpiper
Calidris maritima

Sandpipers and allies

13,000 birds

The purple sandpiper is a medium-sized wading birds that is larger, stockier and darker than a dunlin. It is mainly dark grey above and whitish below. It has a downcurved beak and short bright orange legs. In flight it shows a thin white wing-stripe. A couple of pairs nest in Scotland, but this species is mainly a winter visitor to almost any rocky coast in the UK. Most are found in Orkney, Shetland and along the east coast of Scotland and northern England - it is scarce south of Yorkshire, other than Devon and Cornwall. The breeding areas in Scotland are kept secret to protect the birds from egg thieves and disturbance.

155

Wood warbler
Phylloscopus sibilatrix

Warblers and allies

6,500 males

The attractive but unobtrusive wood warbler is the largest Phylloscopus warbler in Europe. It has bright yellow upper parts, throat and upper chest and white under parts. The species is widespread and numerous in deciduous forest in Europe and reaches its highest densities in the UK in the western oak woods of Wales.

156

Hawfinch
Coccothraustes coccothraustes

Finches

10-15,000 birds

The UK's largest finch, it has a massive, powerful bill. Always shy and difficult to see, the hawfinch has become even more enigmatic in recent years with a decline in many of its traditional breeding areas. Numbers are hard to determine, however, as hawfinches are easily overlooked, especially in summer.

157

Snow bunting
Plectrophenax nivalis

Buntings

10,000-15,000 birds

Snow buntings are large buntings, with striking `snowy' plumages. Males in summer have all white heads and underparts contrasting with a black mantle and wing tips. Females are a more mottled above. In autumn and winter birds develop a sandy/buff wash to their plumage and males have more mottled upperparts. Globally they breed around the arctic from Scandinavia to Alaska, Canada and Greenland and migrate south in winter. They are a scarce breeding species in the UK, in Scotland, making tham an Amber List species. They are more widespread in winter in the north and east when residents are joined by continental birds.

158

Goosander
Mergus merganser

Swans, ducks and geese

12,000 birds

These handsome diving ducks are a member of the sawbill family, so called because of their long, serrated bills, used for catching fish. A largely freshwater bird, the goosander first bred in the UK in 1871. It built up numbers in Scotland and then since 1970 it has spread across northern England into Wales, reaching south-west England. Its love of salmon and trout has brought it into conflict with fishermen. It is gregarious, forming into flocks of several thousand in some parts of Europe.

159

Scaup
Aythya marila

Swans, ducks and geese

12,000 birds

Scaup are diving ducks with a resemblance to tufted ducks. Males have black heads, shoulder and breast, white flanks, grey back and a black tail. Females are brown, with characteristic white patches around the base of the bill. In flight they show white patches along the length of the trailing edge of the wing. Only a handful breed in the UK every year, making them our rarest breeding duck.

160

Little owl
Athene noctua

Owls

5,700 pairs

This small owl was introduced to the UK in the 19th century. It can be seen in the daylight, usually perching on a tree branch, telegraph pole or rock. It will bob its head up and down when alarmed. In flight it has long, rounded wings, rapid wingbeats and flies with a slight undulation. Breeding Bird Survey data suggest that Little owl numbers are declining, with the UK population estimated to be down by 24 per cent between 1995 and 2008.

161

Long-tailed duck
Clangula hyemalis

Swans, ducks and geese

11,000 birds

The long-tailed duck is a small, neat sea duck. They have small round heads and steep foreheads. In winter, the male is mainly white with some brownish-black markings. He also has greatly elongated tails feathers - hence the name. Females are browner. In flights, they show all dark wings and white bellies. They do not breed in the UK but protection of their wintering sites is important, because they are vulnerable to oil pollution at sea. A winter visitor and passage migrant to the UK, most common from Northumberland north to northern Scotland.

162

Waxwing
Bombycilla garrulus

Waxwings

11,000 birds

The waxwing is a plump bird, which is slightly smaller than a starling. It has a prominent crest. It is reddish-brown with a black throat, a small black mask round its eye, yellow and white in the wings and a yellow-tipped tail. It does not breed in the UK, but is a winter visitor, in some years in larger numbers, called irruptions, when the population on its breeding grounds gets too big for the food available.

163

Black grouse
Tetrao tetrix

Grouse

<5,100 males

The all-black males have distinctive red wattle over the eye and show a striking white stripe along each wing in flight. They have a lyre-shaped tail which is fanned out and raised to show white under-tail feathers when displaying. The smaller grey-brown females have a slightly notched tail. Habitat loss and overgrazing have resulted in severe population declines which make this a Red List species. Positive habitat management is helping them to increase in some areas.

164

Nightjar
Caprimulgus europaeus

Nightjars

4,600 males

Nightjars are nocturnal birds and can be seen hawking for food at dusk and dawn. With pointed wings and a long tails their shape is similar to a kestrel or cuckoo. Their cryptic, grey-brown, mottled, streaked and barred plumage provides ideal camouflage in the daytime. They have an almost supernatural reputation with their silent flight and their mythical ability to steal milk from goats. The first indication that a nightjar is near is usually the male's churring song, rising and falling with a ventriloquial quality.

165

Red-breasted merganser
Mergus serrator

Swans, ducks and geese

9,000 birds

These handsome diving ducks belong to the sawbill family, so called because of their long, serrated bills, used for catching fish. Their diet of fish such as salmon and trout has brought them into conflict with game fishermen. At home on both fresh- and saltwater, red-breasted mergansers are most commonly seen around the UK's coastline in winter. They are gregarious, forming flocks of several hundred in the autumn.

166

Kingfisher
Alcedo atthis

Kingfishers

3,800-4,600 pairs

Kingfishers are small unmistakable bright blue and orange birds of slow moving or still water. They fly rapidly, low over water, and hunt fish from riverside perches, occasionally hovering above the water's surface. They are a vulnerable to hard winters and habitat degradation through pollution or unsympathetic management of watercourses. Kingfishers are amber listed because of their unfavourable conservation status in Europe.

167

Long-eared owl
Asio otus

Owls

1,800-6,000 pairs

The long-eared owl is medium-sized owl, smaller in size than a woodpigeon. It often looks long and thin, with head feathers (known as ear tufts even though they are not ears) which it raises when alarmed. It is buff-brown with darker brown streaks, and deep orange eyes. It breeds thinly across the UK with fewer birds in the south-west and Wales. Northern birds migrate southwards, including birds from Europe coming to spend the winter in the UK, while southern birds are residents and only move short distances to find food.

168

Avocet
Recurvirostra avosetta

Stilts and avocets

7,500 birds

A distinctively-patterned black and white wader with a long up-curved beak. It is the emblem of the RSPB and symbolises the bird protection movement in the UK more than any other species. Its return in the 1940s and subsequent increase in numbers represents one of the most successful conservation and protection projects.

169

Crested tit
Lophophanes cristatus

Tits

5,200-9,500 birds

Although not as colourful as some other tits, its 'bridled' face pattern and the upstanding black and white crest make this a most distinctive species. Crested tits feed actively, clinging to trunks and hanging from branches, like most tits, searching for a wide range of invertebrates and pine seeds. They store food extensively during early winter, using it in late winter.

170

Bewicks swan
Cygnus columbianus

Swans, ducks and geese

7,000 birds

Adults are white all over and young birds greyish with a pinkish bill. Compared to the similar whooper swan, these swans have proportionally more black and less yellow on their bill. They're also smaller than both mute and whooper swans and have faster wingbeats.

171

Mandarin
Aix galericulata

Swans, ducks and geese

7,000 birds

The male has the most elaborate and ornate plumage with distinctive long orange feathers on the side of the face, orange 'sails' on the back, and pale orange flanks. The female is dull by comparison with a grey head and white stripe behind the eye, brown back and mottled flanks. They were introduced to the UK from China and have become established following escapes from captivity.

172

Willow tit
Poecile montanus

Tits

3,400 pairs

Between blue and great tits in size, with no yellow, green or blue. It has a large sooty-black cap extending to the back of the neck and a small untidy black bib. It is mid-brown above, with whiter cheeks and pale buff-grey underparts. Its wings show a pale panel not found in marsh tits. Its recent population declines make it a Red List species.

173

Dartford warbler
Sylvia undata

Warblers and allies

3,200 pairs

This small, dark, long-tailed warbler is resident in the UK and has suffered in the past from severe winters. Its population crashed to a few pairs in the 1960s, since when it has gradually recovered, increasing in both numbers and range. It is still regarded as an Amber List species. It will perch on top of a gorse stem to sing, but is often seen as a small flying shape bobbing between bushes.

174

Woodlark
Lullula arborea

Larks

3,100 pairs

It is a streaky brown bird, with a buffy-white eye-stripe which meets across the nape. It has a well developed crest on its crown which is not always conspicuous. In flight the peculiarly short tail and broad, rounded wings are noticeable and the deeply undulating flight with closed wing glides is characteristic. Some UK breeding birds spend the winter on the Continent.

175

Hobby
Falco subbuteo

Falcons and allies

2,800 pairs

About the size of a kestrel with long pointed wings, reminiscent of a giant swift. It has a dashing flight and will chase large insects and small birds like swallows and martins. Prey is often caught in its talons and transferred to its beak in flight. Can accelerate rapidly in flight and is capable of high-speed aerial manoeuvres.

176

Greenshank
Tringa nebularia

Sandpipers and allies

4,790 birds (autumn)

A medium-sized slim wader with a dark grey back and white underparts. Its long green legs and slightly up-turned bill help to distinguish it from other waders. It calls regularly and is seen singly and in small groups.

177

Little egret
Egretta garzetta

Bitterns and herons

4,500 birds

The little egret is a small white heron with attractive white plumes on crest, back and chest, black legs and bill and yellow feet. It first appeared in the UK in significant numbers in 1989 and first bred in Dorset in 1996. Its colonization followed naturally from a range expansion intro western and northern France in previous decades. It is now at home on numerous south coast sites, both as a breeding species and as a winter visitor.

178

Arctic skua
Stercorarius parasiticus

Skuas

2,136 pairs

A medium-sized dark-looking seabird with pointed wings, and pale patches at the wingtips. Often seen flying low and fast above the waves in pursuit of a tern or other bird, sometimes chasing it high into the air, twisting and turning, to make it drop its food. It comes to land only to breed and is aggressive towards intruders into its breeding territory.

179

Cettis warbler
Cettia cetti

Warblers and allies

2,000 males

A small, rather nondescript bird, Cetti's warbler (pronounced chetty) is a skulking bird and can prove very difficult to see. It usually makes its presence known with loud bursts of song and the first glimpse will probably be of a dark, rather stocky warbler with short wings and a full, rounded tail, diving for cover. It is one of the UK's most recent colonists, first breeding here in 1973.

180

Little tern
Sterna albifrons

Terns

1,900 pairs

This delightful chattering seabird is the UK's smallest tern. It is short-tailed and has a fast flight. Its bill is a distinctive yellow with a black tip. It is noisy at its breeding colony where courtship starts with an aerial display involving the male calling and carrying a fish to attract a mate which chases him up high before he descends, gliding with wings in a 'V'. Its vulnerable nesting sites and its decline in Europe make it an Amber List species.

181

Egyptian goose
Alopochen aegyptiacus

Swans, ducks and geese

3,400 birds

Related to the shelduck, this pale brown and grey goose has distinctive dark brown eye-patches and contrasting white wing patches in flight. It was introduced as an ornamental wildfowl species and has escaped into the wild, now successfully breeding in a feral state.

182

Red kite
Milvus milvus

Hawks and eagles

1,600 pairs

124

This magnificently graceful bird of prey is unmistakable with its reddish-brown body, angled wings and deeply forked tail. It was saved from national extinction by one of the world's longest running protection programmes, and has now been successfully re-introduced to England and Scotland.

183

Peregrine
Falco peregrinus

Falcons and allies

1,500 pairs

The peregrine is a large and powerful falcon. It has long, broad, pointed wings and a relatively short tail. It is blue-grey above, with a blackish top of the head and an obvious black 'moustache' that contrasts with its white face. Its breast is finely spotted. It is swift and agile in flight, chasing prey. The strongholds of the breeding birds in the UK are the uplands of the north and west and rocky seacoasts. Peregrines have suffered illegal killing from gamekeepers and landowners, and been a target for egg collectors, but better legal protection and control of pesticides (which indirectly poisoned birds) have helped the population to recover considerably from a low in the 1960s. Some birds, particularly females and juveniles, move away from the uplands in autumn.

184

Lesser spotted woodpecker
Dendrocopos minor

Wrynecks and woodpeckers

1,000-2,000 pairs

The lesser spotted woodpecker is the smallest and least common of the three woodpeckers that are resident in Britain. The male is distinguished from the female by his bright red crown. It tends to nest and feed higher up and is quieter in its tapping. Usually located by its call, and its drumming. When feeding it creeps along branches and flutters from branch to branch, flying with an undulating flight in the open.

185

Great northern diver
Gavia immer

Divers

2,600 birds

The largest of the UK's divers, it has a bigger, heavier head and bill than its commoner relatives. It is largely a winter visitor to our shores although some non-breeding birds stay off northern coasts in the summer.

186

Velvet scoter
Melanitta fusca

Swans, ducks and geese

2,500 birds

The velvet scoter is a black seaduck. It has a long bill, a thick neck and a pointed tail. In flight, it shows a white patch on the rear of the wing - this can also be seen when birds sitting on the sea flap their wings. This species does not breed in the UK, but is a winter visitor to the east coast, especially in Scotland, Norfolk and north-east England. The large flocks in winter are vulnerable to oil pollution and depleted fish stocks.

187

Little ringed plover
Charadrius dubius

Plovers and lapwings

1,200-1,300 pairs

A small plover with a distinctive black and white head pattern, similar to ringed plover. It has a black beak and pale (not orange) legs. Close views reveal a distinctive yellow eye-ring. In flight it shows a plain brown wing without the white wingbar that ringed plover has. It first bred in the UK in 1938 and since then has successfully colonised a large part of England and Wales thanks to man-made habitats such as gravel pits.

188

Merlin
Falco columbarius

Falcons and allies

900-1,500 pairs

The UK's smallest bird of prey, this compact, dashing falcon has a relatively long, square-cut tail and rather broad-based pointed wings, shorter than those of other falcons. Its wingbeat tends to be rapid with occasional glides, wings held close to the body. Its small size enables it to hover and hang in the breeze as it pursues its prey. In winter the UK population increases as most of the Icelandic breeding birds migrate to our warmer climate. Although recovering from a population crash in the late 20th century it is still on the Amber List.

189

Corncrake
Crex crex

Rails

1,200 males

Corncrakes are related to moorhens, coots and rails but differ from most members of the family in that they live on dry land. They are very secretive, spending most of their time hidden in tall vegetation, their presence only betrayed by their rasping call. In flight their bright chestnut wings and trailing legs are unmistakable. They are summer visitors and migrate to Africa for the winter.

190

Water rail
Rallus aquaticus

Rails

1,100 territories

Smaller and distinctly slimmer than the moorhen, the water rail is a fairly common but highly secretive inhabitant of freshwater wetlands. It has chestnut-brown and black upperparts, grey face and underparts and black-and-white barred flanks, and a long red bill. Difficult to see in the breeding season, it is relatively easier to find in winter, when it is also more numerous and widespread. Although usually secretive they can become confiding but are still far more often heard than seen.

191

Mediterranean gull
Larus melanocephalus

Gulls

1,800 birds

Slightly larger than a black-headed gull, with an all-black head in the breeding season. Adults have white wing-tips and underwings, younger birds have more wing markings. It has a large, slightly drooped beak, bright red when adult. A very rare UK bird until the 1950s, it is widespread in winter and breeding in ever increasing numbers. Its present UK breeding population makes it an Amber List species.

192

Cirl bunting
Emberiza cirlus

Buntings

860 territories

A charming relative of the yellowhammer that is at the limit of its European range in the UK.

193

Capercaillie
Tetrao urogallus

Grouse

800-1,900 birds

A huge woodland grouse, the large black males are unmistakable. They spend a lot of time feeding on the ground, but may also be found in trees, feeding on shoots. localised breeding species, found in Scottish native pinewood, a rare and vulnerable habitat, and in commercial conifer plantations. The UK capercaillie population has declined so rapidly that it is at very real risk of extinction (for the second time) and is a 'Red List' species.

194

Hen harrier
Circus cyaneus

Hawks and eagles

617 pairs (and 29 on the Isle of Man) in 2010

Of the UK's birds of prey, this is the most intensively persecuted. Once predating free-range fowl, earning its present name, its effect on the number of grouse available to shoot is the cause of modern conflict and threatens its survival in some parts of the UK, particularly on the driven grouse moors of England and Scotland. While males are a pale grey colour, females and immatures are brown with a white rump and a long, barred tail which give them the name 'ringtail'. They fly with wings held in a shallow 'V', gliding low in search of food, which mainly consists of meadow pipits and voles. The Orkney population is famous for being polygynous, with males sometimes simultaneously mated to multiple females.

195

Dotterel
Charadrius morinellus

Plovers and lapwings

510-750 males

This medium-sized member of the plover family is unusual in that the adult female is brighter than the male - an indication of their role-reversal in raising the young. Adults have largely grey-brown upperparts and bright chestnut belly, with a white chest band, throat and eyestripe, the latter contrasting with a dark cap. On spring migration they are often seen in groups, or 'trips', at traditional stopping places.

196

Bearded tit
Panurus biarmicus

Bearded tit

630 pairs

A brown, long-tailed bird, usually seen flying rapidly across the top of a reedbed. Males have black 'moustaches' rather than 'beards'. They are sociable and noisy, their 'ping' calls often being the first clue to their presence.

197

Balearic shearwater
Puffinus mauretanicus

Petrels and shearwaters

Up to 1,200

Slightly larger than the closely related Manx shearwater, the Balearic shearwater is brown above and dull below. It flies with rapid, shallow wingbeats on stiffly held wings. It will rest on the water, and also plunge-dive for food. Despite breeding in the Balearic Islands, and the south coast of France, it migrates north towards the Bay of Biscay, which is when some birds make it into British waters.

198

Yellow-legged gull
Larus michahellis

Gulls

1,100 birds

The yellow-legged gull has only recently been recognised as a species in its own right, having previously been considered to be a race of herring gull. Adults have darker grey backs and wings than herring gulls, but are paler than lesser black-backed gulls. They have more black in the wing tips than herring gulls and smaller white 'mirrors'. The legs are bright yellow, there is a red ring around the eye and the bill is yellow with a large red spot. In non-breeding plumage, the head is less streaked and whiter than herring gulls. Juvenile yellow-legged gulls are very similar to juvenile lesser black-backed gulls, but tend to be whiter-headed and start to gain a grey 'saddle' on their backs quickly as they moult to first winter plumage. Immature birds gain adult-like characteristics as they mature over the course of five years with the legs turning yellow and dark grey feathers replacing the brown and black immature feathers.

199

Slavonian grebe
Podiceps auritus

Grebes

1,100 birds

Arguably the most attractive of the UK's breeding grebes, with its golden ear tufts and trilling calls. It looks similar to the black-necked grebe in winter but has whiter cheeks which almost meet at the back of the neck. Due to its small breeding population it is an Amber List species.

200

Firecrest
Regulus ignicapillus

Warblers and allies

550 territories

This tiny, restless jewel of a bird vies with the goldcrest for the title of the UK's smallest bird. Compared to the goldcrest, the firecrest is brighter and 'cleaner' looking, with a green back, white belly, bronze 'collar' and a black and white eye-stripe. They have a yellow and black stripe on their heads, which has a bright orange centre in males. Like goldcrests, they move through trees and bushes in search of small insects.

201

Quail
Coturnix coturnix

Partridges, quails, pheasants and allies

540 males

A small gamebird - the combination of its stocky body and long, pointed wings makes it quite distinctive. Its upperparts are brown, streaked and barred with buff, while its underparts are a warm buffy orange. Rarely seen it is more usually heard giving its distinctive 'wet-my lips' call. It is the UK's only migrant gamebird, reaching the northern fringes of the its breeding range here. It is a Amber List species because of a partial recovery from its historical decline as a UK breeding species.

202

Yellow-browed warbler
Phylloscopus inornatus

Warblers and allies

Around 1,000 birds

A small, green warbler similar in size to a goldcrest. The yellow 'eyebrow' is distinctive, as is the coal tit-like call. Yellow-browed warblers breed in Siberia and occur in the UK every year as they migrate south-westwards.

203

Green sandpiper
Tringa ochropus

Sandpipers and allies

910 birds

A very contrasting wader which looks like a large house martin in flight. Its dark, almost black upperparts, pale underparts and white rump are distinctive. It frequently bobs up and down when standing. It often appears nervous and will fly off with a low zig-zagging flight when disturbed.

204

Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopus

Sandpipers and allies

400-500 pairs

The whimbrel is a large wading bird. It has longish legs and a long bill that curves near the tip. It is brownish above and whitish below. In flight, it shows a white 'V' shape up its back from its tail. In the UK, this species only breeds in north Scotland. It is a passage migrant to other areas in spring and autumn on its way from and to its wintering areas in South Africa. The Shetland and Orkney breeding population has been slowly increasing.

205

Golden eagle
Aquila chrysaetos

Hawks and eagles

440 pairs

A huge bird of prey, with only the white-tailed eagle larger in the UK. With its long broad wings and longish tail, it has a different outline to the smaller buzzard. It likes to soar and glide on air currents, holding its wings in a shallow 'V'. Eagles have traditional territories and nesting places which may be used by generations. They have been illegally killed in the past and are still occasionally poisoned, or have their nests robbed.

206

Chough
Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Crows

370-500 pairs

While its black plumage identifies it as a crow, the chough (pronounced 'chuff') has a red bill and legs unlike any other member of the crow family. It is restricted to the west of the British Isles. It readily displays its mastery of flight with wonderful aerial displays of diving and swooping. Found in flocks in autumn and winter.

207

Ruff
Philomachus pugnax

Sandpipers and allies

820 birds

The ruff is a medium-sized wading bird. It has a long neck, a small head, a rather short slightly droopy bill and medium-long orange or reddish leg. In flight it shows a faint wing-stripe and oval white patches either side of the tail. It breeds in a very few lowland sites in eastern England, and it appears that numbers are dropping. It is a migrant but in the UK some birds are present all year round. Many young birds from Scandinavia visit the UK in late summer, then migrating on to Africa.

208

Bean goose
Anser fabalis

Swans, ducks and geese

730 birds

The bean goose is one of the 'grey geese'. It tends to be darker and browner than the other species in this group, and to have a darker head and neck. It breeds in north Scandinavia, north Russia and north Asia, and visits Britain in small numbers in autumn and winter. Most of the birds that winter here come from Scandinavia, where the breeding population has declined in the last 20 years. Possible reasons for this decline include increased human disturbance, changes in agriculture and direct persecution.

209

Lapland bunting
Calcarius lapponicus

Buntings

710 birds

Slightly smaller than a reed bunting with a well marked head pattern, chestnut nape and chestnut wing panel. Spends most of its time on the ground and often seen in small flocks. Occasional birds are seen in Scotland in the summer, when males have a striking black crown, face and throat.

210

Goshawk
Accipiter gentilis

Hawks and eagles

280-430 pairs

A large hawk, almost reaching buzzard size. When seen close to it has a fierce expression with bright red eyes and a distinctive white eyebrow. Its broad wings enable it to hunt at high speed, weaving in and out of trees, and its long legs and talons can catch its prey in flight. The female is substantially larger than the male. In late winter and spring it has a 'sky-dance' display. Goshawks are still persecuted and their nests are frequently robbed.

211

Short-toed treecreeper
Certhia brachydactyla

Treecreepers

200-500 pairs (Jersey)

The short-toed treecreeper is a small tree-dwelling bird with a long, slender, downcurved bill. It is speckly brown above and mainly white below and looks very similar to a treecreeper, although its song is different. It breeds in the Channel Islands and France but is a vagrant to the UK.

212

Marsh harrier
Circus aeruginosus

Hawks and eagles

320-380 pairs

The largest of the harriers, it can be recognised by its long tail and light flight with wings held in a shallow 'V'. It is distinguishable from other harriers by its larger size, heavier build, broader wings and absence of white on the rump. Females are larger than males and have obvious creamy heads. Its future in the UK is now more secure than at any time during the last century but historical declines and subsequent recovery means it is an Amber List species.

213

Stone-curlew
Burhinus oedicnemus

Stone-curlews

350 pairs

A strange, rare summer visitor to southern England, the stone-curlew is a crow-sized bird with a large head, long yellow legs and relatively long wings and tail. Active at night, and its large yellow eyes enable it to locate food when it is dark. It is not related to curlews and gets its name from its curlew-like call.

214

Curlew sandpiper
Calidris ferruginea

Sandpipers and allies

670 birds

Similar to a dunlin, but in autumn it looks cleaner and paler with a white eyestripe. It has a longer, more down-curved bill than a dunlin and will feed in slightly deeper water. Deep chestnut breeding plumage unmistakable in spring and summer. In flight it shows a bright white rump.

215

Little gull
Larus minutus

Gulls

400-800

A small, dainty gull. Adults in summer have black heads, while young birds have a black mark on each wing which forms a 'W' pattern. In flight adults show a pale grey upperwing, with no black wingtips, and a very dark grey underwing.

216

Bittern
Botaurus stellaris

Bitterns and herons

600 birds

A thickset heron with all-over bright, pale, buffy-brown plumage covered with dark streaks and bars. It flies on broad, rounded, bowed wings. A secretive bird, very difficult to see, as it moves silently through reeds at water's edge, looking for fish. The males make a remarkable far-carrying, booming sound in spring. Its dependence on reedbeds and very small population make it a Red List species - one of the most threatened in the UK.

217

Black-throated diver
Gavia arctica

Divers

560 birds

These streamlined diving birds sit low in the water and dive with consummate ease. On land they are clumsy, barely able to walk with their legs so far back on their bodies. They are easily disturbed when breeding and their vulnerability to marine pollution make them a vulnerable as well as rare breeding species.

218

Spotted redshank
Tringa erythropus

Sandpipers and allies

540 birds

The spotted redshank is a medium sized elegant wading bird, slightly larger than a redshank. In summer plumage the adults are almost entirely black, save for some white `spotting' on the wings, a white `wedge' on the back showing clearly in flight, and a barred tail. In winter they have a grey back, and paler under parts, with a more prominent eye stripe than a redshank and lacking a redshank's white wing bars. They migrate from northern European across and northern Siberian breeding areas, to winter in Europe, Africa, China and South-east Asia. They are a relatively scarce wintering species in the UK, with over half the population found at fewer than ten sites, making them an Amber List species.

219

Black tern
Chlidonias niger

Terns

Hundreds

A small tern with an all-black head and body, contrasting with grey wings, back and tail in spring; autumn birds have grey upperparts, white underparts and distinctive black head markings. Feeds by dipping down and picking food from the surface of water. Has occasionally bred in the UK.

220

Great shearwater
Puffinus gravis

Petrels and shearwaters

Hundreds to thousands

A large shearwater, about the same size as a fulmar. It has dark grey-brown upperparts and pale underparts with a distinctive dark cap and pale neck, as well as dark underwing edges.

221

Little stint
Calidris minuta

Sandpipers and allies

460

The little stint is a tiny wading bird with a short straight fine black bill and medium-length black legs. It is brownish-grey above (grey in winter) and it is very white underneath. Autumn birds have two pale stripes or 'braces' down the back. It does not breed in the UK, but is a passage migrant, with most birds being juveniles seen in autumn. It is much scarcer in spring, when small numbers of adults are seen, and a very few birds spend the winter here, most migrating to Africa. Often seen with feeding dunlin.

222

Osprey
Pandion haliaetus

Osprey

200-250 pairs

Seen in flight from below the osprey has white or slightly mottled underparts. The long wings are angled, bending at the 'wrist' which has a black patch contrasting with the white wing linings, and at a distance it could be mistaken for a large gull. This spectacular fish-eating bird of prey is an Amber List species because of its historical decline (due to illegal killing), and low breeding numbers.

223

Black redstart
Phoenicurus ochruros

Chats and thrushes

400 birds

The black redstart is a small robin-sized bird that has adapted to live at the heart of industrial and urban centres. Its name comes from the plumage of the male, which is grey-black in colour with a red tail. With fewer than 100 breeding pairs in the UK, the black redstart is on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern.

224

Bluethroat
Luscinia svecica

Chats and thrushes

85-600

A small robin-like bird, the male is unmistakable in spring with his bright blue throat, bordered below with bands of black, white and chestnut. Its central throat spot can be white or chestnut, depending on which subspecies you are looking at -'white-spotted' or the more numerous 'red-spotted'. They can be quite secretive, flicking into the cover of a bush with a flash of their chestnut tail patches.

225

Red-crested pochard
Netta rufina

Swans, ducks and geese

320 birds

Larger than a pochard, the male has an orange-brown head with a red beak and pale flanks. Females are brown with pale cheeks. In flight they show whitish primaries. They dive, dabble and up-end for their food. There is a large population in Spain and nearer but smaller numbers in France, Netherlands and Germany - and occasional wild birds may come to the UK from the Continent. The UK breeding birds almost certainly all come from escaped birds.

226

Mealy redpoll
Carduelis flammea

Finches

310 birds

The mealy redpoll is a small finch. It is larger and paler than the very similar lesser redpoll. It is streaky brown above and whitish below with black streaks. It shows two white lines on the folded wing. It does not breed in the UK, but is a passage migrant and winter visitor, particularly to the east coast.

227

Wryneck
Jynx torquilla

Wrynecks and woodpeckers

280 birds

Wrynecks are small sparrow-sized birds, appearing greyish overall, with brown and buff mottling. They have a contrasting dark band running down from the back of the head onto the back. They feed almost exclusively on ants and unlike other woodpeckers, are seen mainly on the ground, and do not often climb up vertical trunks or branches.

228

Red-backed shrike
Lanius collurio

Shrikes

250 birds

Red-backed shrikes are slightly larger, but slimmer, than house sparrows. The male is unmistakable with a bluish-grey head, black mask, bright chestnut back and thick hooked black bill. Shrikes like to perch prominently on the tops of bushes, fence posts and telephone wires, where they have a good view of potential prey. Items caught are then taken to a larder where they are impaled on a thorn or wedged in a fork. Its dramatic decline to virtual extinction as a UK breeding species make this a Red List bird.

229

Iceland gull
Larus glaucoides

Gulls

240 birds

A medium-size gull, smaller than most herring gulls. It has a rounded head and smallish beak, giving it a dove-like expression. It has very pale plumage and white wing tips, and, like the glaucous gull, it is sometimes referred to as a 'white-winged' gull. It is a winter visitor, with small numbers of birds, usually seen singly. It breeds in the Arctic and winters as far south as New York and Britain.

230

Water pipit
Anthus spinoletta

Pipits and wagtails

190 birds

The water pipit is a large and stocky pipit. It is greyish-brown above and pale below with streaks on its breast. It has a pale stripe over its eye, a slender bill and dark legs. It does not breed in the UK, but is a winter visitor, mainly to southern and eastern England. It breeds in the Alps and other mountains of central and southern Europe.

231

Smew
Mergus albellus

Swans, ducks and geese

180 birds

The smew is a small compact diving duck with a delicate bill. The male is white with a black mask and a black back, the female is grey with a reddish-brown head and white cheek. In flight, it shows black and white wings. It is a winter visitor in small numbers from Scandinavia and Russia. Sometimes birds move here from Holland and Denmark to escape freezing weather there. Little is known about this bird on its breeding grounds.

232

Roseate tern
Sterna dougallii

Terns

89 pairs

Similar in size to a common tern but very white-looking, with long tail-streamers, a black cap and a black beak with a reddish base. In summer adults have a pinkish tinge to their underparts which gives them their name. It is one of our rarest seabirds and whose severe, long-lasting and well documented decline make it a Red List species.

233

Glaucous gull
Larus hyperboreus

Gulls

170 birds

A large pale gull with white wing tips. Younger birds are creamy white or more biscuit coloured, depending on age. All have pale wingtips. It is bigger than a herring gull and bulkier, with a fiercer expression, larger beak and squarer head than the smaller but virually identically-plumaged plumaged Iceland gull.

234

Spotted crake
Porzana porzana

Rails

80 males

The spotted crake is only the size of a starling. Breeding adults have a brown back with dark streaks, a blue-grey face and an olive-brown breast - all covered with white flecks and spots. The under tail is a warm buff colour. Spotted crakes tend to skulk in thick cover and walk with their body close to the ground and tail flicking. They swim with a jerky action like that of the moorhen. If surprised in the open, they run for cover or jump up and flutter away with legs dangling.

235

Golden pheasant
Chrysolophus pictus

Partridges, quails, pheasants and allies

50-100 pairs

Smaller than a pheasant, the male is very brightly coloured with a yellow crown and lower back, dark wings and upper neck, red underparts and long finely barred tail. female is paler brown than a female pheasant. It is a shy bird, keeping to dark, dense woodland. Roosts in trees at night.

236

Black-necked grebe
Podiceps nigricollis

Grebes

130 birds

This small grebe has beautiful golden tufts of feathers on its face, contrasting with its black head and neck. Its steep forehead makes its head look 'peaked'. A rare breeding bird, it is also uncommon in winter.

237

Parrot crossbill
Loxia pytyopstittacus

Finches

65 pairs

The parrot crossbill is a large, powerful finch. It has a deep parrot-like bill and a sharply forked tail. The male is orange to red with dusky wings and tail, the female is olive-green or grey. It is very similar to the crossbill and scottish crossbill: the bill structure and the distinctive, deeper call is the most reliable way to separate them. Irrupts into Britain some years from Europe after the corn crop has failed there and has bred away from its stronghold in Abernethy Forest.

238

Garganey
Anas querquedula

Swans, ducks and geese

14-93 pairs

The garganey is a scarce and very secretive breeding duck in the UK. It is smaller than a mallard and slightly bigger than a teal. The male is most easily recognised with a broad white stripe over the eye. In flight it shows a pale blue forewing. It feeds by 'dabbling'.

239

Honey buzzard
Pernis apivorus

Hawks and eagles

33-69 pairs

The honey buzzard is a large bird of prey that is similar to the buzzard. It has got broad wings and a long tail. The plumage is very variable across all ages; typical adults are greyish-brown on its upperparts and whitish underparts. The nest sites of British breeding birds are usually kept secret to protect them from egg collectors. Numbers are increasing, perhaps as a result of upland conifer forest maturing. It is a summer visitor to its breeding sites and spends the winter in Africa.

240

Temmincks stint
Calidris temminckii

Sandpipers and allies

100 birds

This is a tiny, greyish-brown wading bird with a white belly. The bill is short and used for probing into muddy shorelines.

241

Hoopoe
Upupa epops

Hoopoe

100 birds

The hoopoe is an exotic looking bird that is the size of a mistle thrush. It has a pinkish-brown body, striking black and white wings, a long black downcurved bill, and a long pinkish-brown crest which it raises when excited. It does not breed in the UK, but as many as 100 birds can turn up in spring (mostly seen as single birds) as birds migrating north to Europe from Africa overshoot and land on the south coast of England.

242

Cattle egret
Bubulcus ibis

Bitterns and herons

c100

Slightly smaller but much rarer than the little egret, cattle egrets are visiting the UK in increasing numbers. They often spend time close to livestock and grab insects and worms that their hooves disturb. Cattle egrets have yellow or greyish legs and a yellow beak, compared to the black legs (with yellow feet) and black beak of the little egret.

243

Golden oriole
Oriolus oriolus

Orioles

85 birds

Blackbird-sized the male has an unmistakable bright yellow body with black wings. A secretive bird which keeps to the high tree canopy, it can be heard, most often at dawn, giving its distinctive fluting whistle. It flies rather like a thrush - slightly undulating.

244

White-tailed eagle
Haliaeetus albicilla

Hawks and eagles

37-44 pairs

The white-tailed eagle is the largest UK bird of prey. It has brown body plumage with a conspicuously pale head and neck which can be almost white in older birds, and the tail feathers of adults are white. In flight it has massive long, broad wings with 'fingered' ends. Its head protrudes and it has a short, wedge-shaped tail. It went extinct in the UK during the early 20th century, due to illegal killing, and the present population has been reintroduced.

245

Rough-Legged Buzzard
Buteo Lagopus

Hawks and eagles

Between 10 and 150 (in influx years)

A bird of prey very similar to the much more common buzzard, though only a small number spend winter in the UK. It has the habit of 'hanging' in the air while looking for prey, hovering much more regularly than common buzzards. Key features include the black-tipped white tail, paler appearance than common buzzard, longer wings and paler head. Beware of pale common buzzards - a notoriously variable species. A close view will reveal the heavily feathered legs that give this bird its name.

246

Shorelark
Eremophila alpestris

Larks

74 birds

A distinctive lark with yellow and black face markings and black 'horns' (feather tufts) in breeding plumage. They are almost exclusively coastal birds. Numbers vary greatly from one winter to the next. In a good year, a few hundred may be present, but in others they can be very scarce. Watch for them shuffling their way across shingle and sandy beaches.

247

Great Grey Shrike
Lanius excubitor

Shrikes

63 birds

The great grey shrike is the largest of the European shrikes. Small numbers come to the UK in autumn and spend the winter here. They are very territorial so you're unlikely to see more than one at once. Shrikes are often 'mobbed' by other birds which recognise them as dangerous predators. Keep an eye out for a medium-sized, long-tailed bird sitting at the top of a tree. The black mask and grey plumage are distinctive.

248

Ruddy duck
Oxyura jamaicensis

Swans, ducks and geese

60 birds

Ruddy ducks are small, stout freshwater diving ducks with broad, short wings and narrow, stiff tails. The male ruddy duck has a bright chestnut body, black crown, white cheeks and blue bill. They swim buoyantly, often with the tail cocked up, and can also gradually submerge without diving. They hardly ever leave the water, being very ungainly on land. This species is subject to a Government-led eradication programme. As a result, the UK population of ruddy ducks now stands at fewer than 150 individuals.

249

Red-necked grebe
Podiceps grisegena

Grebes

57 birds

Like all grebes it is an expert swimmer and diver. In winter plumage it is similar to a great crested grebe but has has a thicker neck, and a stout dark bill with a yellow base. It has a brown body, a black crown with whitish cheeks and, in summer, a red neck and breast. Breeding has been suspected in the UK but the potential sites are kept secret and birds given special protection to protect them. Fewer than 20 individuals spend the summer in the UK each year, with numbers increasing slightly in the winter when birds move here from colder Europe.

250

Crane
Grus grus

Cranes

52 birds

The crane is a huge, graceful, mainly grey bird with long legs, a long neck and drooping, curved tail feathers. Small numbers pass through Britain in spring and autumn, and there is a tiny breeding population in eastern England. Numbers in Europe have declined over the last 300 years because of disturbance, shooting and drainage.

251

Red-necked phalarope
Phalaropus lobatus

Sandpipers and allies

20-24 males

These small, delicate waders are adapted well to spending a lot of time on water. Unlike other waders, phalaropes have lobed toes which enable them to swim strongly when on pools or out at sea. They spend most of their time in the water but can equally run about on land. The duller coloured male looks after the eggs and young after laying. As a rare UK breeding species it is a Red List bird.

252

Wood sandpiper
Tringa glareola

Sandpipers and allies

11-27 pairs

The wood sandpiper is a medium-sized wading bird, with a fine straight bill, yellowish legs and a conspicuous long white stripe from the bill over the eye to the back of the neck. In flight, it shows no wing-stripes and a square white rump. A passage migrant in spring and autumn, breeding in Northern Europe and wintering in Africa; a few pairs breed in the Scottish Highlands. The flooding of some previously drained traditional marshes in Scotland may help this species in future.

253

Great White Egret
Ardea alba

Bitterns and herons

35 birds

As the name suggests, a large, white heron. Great white egrets can look similar to little egrets, but they are much larger -the same size as the familiar grey heron. Other identification features to look out for include black feet (not yellow), yellow beak (in juvenile and non-breeding plumage), and a different fishing technique like that of the grey heron.

254

Montagus harrier
Circus pygargus

Hawks and eagles

Less than 10 pairs

The Montagu's harrier is a slim, medium-sized, long-winged bird of prey. It has a long tail, is smaller than a buzzard, and has more pointed wings than the similar hen harrier. The male is grey above. In flight, it shows black wingtips and a black stripe across the inner wing. The female is dark brown. It is an extremely rare breeding bird in the UK, and its status is precarious. Each pair needs special protection. It seems increasingly to be nesting on arable farmland rather than on marshes. It is a summer visitor, and migrates to Africa to spend the winter.

255

Spoonbill
Platalea leucorodia

Ibises and spoonbills

20 birds

Spoonbills are tall white waterbirds with long spatulate black bills and long black legs. In flight they fly with necks and legs extended, in the water they feed with elegant sideward sweeps of their bill. In the breeding season adults show some yellow on their breast and bill tip. The species is of European conservation concern and a very rare breeding bird in the UK. Most birds migrate south in the winter, but numerous individuals remain and winter in Western Europe.

256

Lady Amhersts pheasant
Chrysolophus amherstiae

Partridges, quails, pheasants and allies

Less than 10 pairs/territories

A very secretive pheasant which runs rather than fly. The male is very colourful with an extremely long black and white tail, greenish back, red and yellow rump and black-and-white neck ruff. Females are similar to pheasant. This introduced species from China survives in small numbers, mainly in Bedfordshire.

257

Aquatic warbler
Acrocephalus paludicola

Warblers and allies

10 birds

The aquatic warbler is a regular but scarce autumn migrant to certain areas in southern Britain, visiting on its way between breeding grounds in eastern Europe and its winter home in West Africa. Its dependence on a specialised and vulnerable breeding habitat means it has become a globally threatened and declining species. It is more yellow-brown and streaked than the simliar sedge warbler.

258

Marsh warbler
Acrocephalus palustris

Warblers and allies

2-8 pairs

Few people hear this master singer in the UK because of its rarity. Similar-looking to the reed warbler, it is whiter below, more olive above and has pale legs. Like other warblers it is highly active, searching its habitat of shrubs and dense vegetation for food. Though it's thought to have a secure population within Europe, the UK population of marsh warblers has fallen and is now of serious conservation concern.

259

Savis warbler
Locustella luscinioides

Warblers and allies

1-3 pairs

Savi's warbler is right on the edge of its range here, and its numbers have always been very low and difficult to see in the UK. Like most of this family it is heard before it is seen, with a similar song to the grasshopper warbler but less persistent. Patiently watching where the sound is coming from will eventually result in the sight of a warm brown warbler, clinging to a reed.

260

Scarlet rosefinch
Carpodacus erythrinus

Finches

0-4 pairs

Scarlet rosefinches are sparrow sized birds, mottled brown above with a streaked breast, pale belly and forked tail. Males, older than one year, have scarlet head, breast and rump. Females, juveniles and first year males have streaked brown heads and somewhat resemble small corn buntings. The species breeds across much of northern Asia and parts of eastern and central Europe and migrate south-east in winter. In the UK they have bred sporadically.

261

Serin
Serinus serinus

Finches

1-2 pairs annually (average)

Serins are small finches with short stubby bills and forked tails. Both sexes have streaky yellow brown upper parts, paler streaked under parts and lemon yellow rumps. Males have bright yellow heads with darker patches on the crown and below the eye, females and juveniles are much duller. They have been recorded annually in the UK in small numbers since the 1960s and have bred sporadically since the 1970s (Devon, Dorset, Sussex, East Anglia and the Jersey) but no more than one or two pairs a year.

Sooty shearwater
Puffinus griseus

Petrels and shearwaters

The sooty shearwater is a seabird, that is smaller than a herring gull. It is a large shearwater, with dark brown body and wings and long wings. Its bill is dark and when seen close up, there is a pale band along the underneath of the wings. It does not breed in the UK, but makes a huge clockwise migration up the western Atlantic in spring to spend the northern summer in the north Atlantic. Then in summer/autumn it moves down into UK waters on its return to the southern ocean to breed.

Little auk
Alle alle

Auks

The little auk is a small seabird, the size of a starling. It is black above and white below, and in flight it shows dark underwings. It has a black stubby bill, and a short neck and tail. It flies with very fast whirring wingbeats low over the sea. It is a winter visitor to the waters around the UK in small numbers each year. It breeds in the Arctic and winters in the North Atlantic. Some birds enter the North Sea in autumn and large numbers can be seen passing offshore during gales.

Long-tailed skua
Stercorarius longicaudus

Skuas

The long-tailed skua is a medium-sized seabird and our smallest skua. It is the size of a black-headed gull, with slim wings and long delicate tail streamers. It is greyish above, and dusky below with a pale breast. It has a dark cap on the head and has a dark bill. Juvenile birds and greyer and more barred than juvenile Arctic and Pomarine Skuas, but are tricky to identify. It is a passage migrant to the UK, breeding in the high Arctic. Good numbers of birds spend the winter off west African coasts and off Brazilian and Argentinian coasts.

Pomarine skua
Stercorarius pomarinus

Skuas

The pomarine skua is a large seabird, nearly as big as a herring gull. It has long spoon-shaped tail streamers. There are two colour forms: dark - birds are all dark brown with small white flashes on the wings; light - birds have a pale breast and a dark cap on their heads. It does not breed in the UK, but is a passage migrant in both spring and autumn. It winters off the coast of West Africa.

White-crowned Sparrow
Zonotrichia leucophrys