How to Recognise Different Birds
If you have a keen interest in nature and love hearing and seeing the birds when you’re out on a walk or in your garden but want to know more about birds, this article is for you. We take a look at some of the most common birds in the UK and how to recognise them.
Robin
The robin is one of the most easily recognisable birds you will find in your garden. They’re small with a red chest, and the males and females are almost identical. Robins are avid singers, starting early in the morning and going until the evening. Robins sing to warn off predators or to attract a mate. If you want to attract more robins to your garden, they love to eat worms, insects, fruit and seeds. You can even buy specially mixed robin food to encourage robins to visit your garden. The bright red chest on a robin acts as a deterrent to predators; young robins start to develop the red chest when they’re just a few months old. This bird is a firm favourite in the UK because they’re easy to spot by novices, bird watchers and even children.
Wood pigeon
Wood pigeons are much larger birds, and they are the largest type of pigeon. They will take food from bird tables and on the ground around. They’re blue/grey in colour and have white and black features; the belly of the wood pigeon also has a slightly pink hue. You are likely to recognise the wood pigeon call or cooing. It is very distinct and can be heard in gardens and parks all over the UK. Wood pigeons are abundant in numbers; no matter where you are in nature or in the city, you’re likely to find one nearby.
Blackbird
Blackbirds are another widespread and easily recognisable bird in the UK. The males are black with a yellow-orange beak and the same coloured patch around their eye area. Despite their name, female blackbirds are actually brown; they also commonly have markings on their body that resemble spots or streaks. Blackbirds have a nice mellow song that they use to communicate with each other. You will often hear the bird calls of the blackbird when in your garden or out in nature. Blackbirds are abundant in the UK and are easy birds to recognise.
Carrion crow
The carrion crow is most often referred to as a crow; they’re all black in appearance, including their beak and quite large birds. Crows are very common in the UK; you can find them almost anywhere. Crows are very intelligent birds you will often find alone or in pairs. You can recognise a crow by its song call alone; they have a very distinctive caw-caw noise that they make to communicate danger. Crows eat a wide variety of food and are often seen as scavengers. They also hide their food for later; some crows have been known to hide food in several locations and return to those locations to eat when their supplies run low.
Magpie
Magpies are instantly recognisable with their black and white feathers. However, when you get close to a magpie, you will see that they may appear black from a distance, but they actually have very interesting blue and green hues to their black feathers. Magpies have often been thought to be associated with magic and fortune telling; there are even songs and gestures about seeing magpies alone or in a group. The magpie can be recognised by its chirping sound; they’re found all over the UK in gardens and many other locations. Magpies eat a large variety of food, from small insects to plant material and fruit; they also scavenge and will eat almost anything they can find.
These are just a few of the most common birds to look out for in your garden; recognising the bigger birds is an easy way to get started with bird watching. You can then learn more about the smaller and less common birds found in the UK. Listen out for the different bird calls each of these species of bird makes to see if you can recognise them by sound alone.