Features

1. House sparrow

The noisy and gregarious house sparrow is one of our most familiar birds and is affectionately recognised as being a cheeky and loveable rogue with a promiscuous nature. It feeds on seeds, grains and scraps on the ground and on bird tables. The house sparrow also feeds from nut feeders and enjoys mealworms.  It is sedentary and rarely moves more than two kilometres from its birthplace. The house sparrow is widely distributed throughout Britain and was seen in 65 per cent of gardens during the 2007 Big Garden Birdwatch. However, the population has declined by over 65 per cent in recent years earning it a place on the red list, along with other birds of high conservation concern.

----------

Starlings picture by David Tipling

2. Starling

The starling is a familiar bird throughout Britain. It is famed for its ability to mimic the calls of other birds and the mechanical noises in its varied repertoire of song. Smaller than blackbirds, with a short tail, pointed head and triangular wings, a starling looks black at a distance but when seen closer it is very glossy with a sheen of purples and greens. Its flight is fast and direct and it walks and runs confidently on the ground.  The starling feeds on scraps, seeds and from nut feeders; it also probes into lawns for worms and grubs. Although still common in gardens, it was seen in just under half of all gardens (46 per cent) during the Birdwatch, the past 25 years has seen its population decline by more than 50 per cent making it another red listed species.

----------

3. Blackbird

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. The blackbird has a long tail and often hops along the ground with its tail up. It feeds on berries, scraps and apples, and searches for worms on the lawn. One of the commonest UK birds, its mellow song is also a favourite, often described as the finest song of all British thrushes. It is extremely varied and complex with almost no repetition. The bird adds to its repertoire throughout its life by inventiveness, learning and mimicry. The blackbird is the most common bird seen in gardens, during Big Garden Birdwatch 2007 it was seen in 89 per cent of gardens.

----------

Blue tit

4. Blue tit

Its colourful mix of blue, yellow, white and green make the agile blue tit one of the most attractive resident garden birds. Almost any garden with a peanut feeder will attract it, it will also feed on seeds, and scraps from bird tables and the ground. In winter it forms flocks with great tits, long-tailed tits and other woodland species as they search for food. A garden with four or five at a bird table at any one time, may be feeding 20 or more birds. The blue tit was seen in 84 per cent of gardens during the 2007 Birdwatch.

----------

5. Chaffinch

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 and was seen in more than half of gardens (53 per cent) surveyed during Big Garden Birdwatch 2007.  A chaffinch will usually be heard before being seen, with its loud song and varied calls.

----------

6. Woodpigeon

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 and was seen in 58 per cent of Big Garden Birdwatch gardens. Its cooing call is a familiar sound in woodlands as is the loud clatter of its wings when it flies away. The woodpigeon feeds on grain, seeds, scraps, berries, buds and is quite partial to crops like cabbages, sprouts and peas.

----------

7. Collared dove

Distinctive with its buffy-pink plumage, black neck collar and long, white tail with a black base, the collared dove is usually seen singly or in pairs, although flocks may form where food is plentiful. It feeds on the ground but readily perches on roofs and wires. It feeds on seeds and scraps, from and around the bird table. After rapidly spreading across Europe in the early half of the 20th century, the collared dove is now one of our most common birds, seen in more than half (56 per cent) of Birdwatch gardens, and its monotonous cooing is a familiar sound.

----------

8. Robin

With its bright, orange-red breast, brown back and dumpy shape, the robin is a familiar garden bird and was officially adopted as Britain's National Bird in 1960.  The robin sings nearly all year round and despite its cute appearance, it is aggressively territorial and is quick to drive away intruders, demonstrated by the fact that only 1.26 birds per garden were seen during the 2007 survey, yet the robin was seen in 81 per cent of gardens.  The robin is the only garden bird to sing throughout the winter, with both males and females holding winter territories. It is unusual to see more than two birds at a time, except in very cold weather. It feeds on seeds, scraps, berries, insects and mealworms, both on the ground and on the bird table.

----------

9. Great Tit

Bigger than the blue tit, the great tit is green and yellow with a striking glossy black head, 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 feeds on seeds and scraps on the ground, on bird tables and from nut feeders. It can be quite aggressive at a birdtable, fighting off smaller tits. In winter, family flocks of great tits are joined by blue tits, long-tailed tits and other woodland species as they search for food. The great tit was seen in 50 per cent of gardens surveyed during the 2007 Birdwatch.

----------

10. Goldfinch

A small, dainty, highly coloured finch with a bright red face and yellow wing patch. Goldfinches often feed in small flocks, and its twittering call and black and yellow wings draw attention to it.  It is a seed-eater that feeds on the ground, on seed heads of garden plants (although this is mainly male goldfinches as they have a slightly longer beak than females) and on seed-filled birdfeeders. It occasionally feeds from nut feeders, is partial to nyjer seed and will eat insects. The goldfinch was seen in 36 per cent of Big Garden Birdwatch gardens surveyed.

----------

11. Greenfinch

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 on the ground, bird tables and feeders, it is a popular garden visitor but was only seen in 32 per cent of gardens during the birdwatch. Although quite sociable, it may squabble among other greenfinches or with other birds at the bird table.

----------

12. Dunnock

A small, easily overlooked bird, the dunnock creeps around under bushes in a mouse-like way. It is a brown and grey bird with a slender beak, which it uses to catch its insect and spider food. The dunnock is sedentary, rarely moving more than one kilometre from its birthplace. When two rival males come together they become animated with lots of wing-flicking and loud calling. It also has an extremely promiscuous lifestyle and was seen in 50 per cent of gardens during Big Garden Birdwatch 2007.

----------

13. Magpie

Magpies seem to be jacks of all trades – scavengers, predators and pest-destroyers, its challenging, almost arrogant attitude has won it few friends. With its noisy chattering, black-and-white plumage and long tail, there is nothing else quite like the magpie in the UK. When seen close-up its black plumage takes on an altogether more colourful hue with a purplish-blue iridescent sheen to the wing feathers, and a green gloss to the tail. It feeds on a variety of foods, including scraps. Despite a 146 per cent increase in numbers per garden since 1979, it was only seen in 47 per cent of gardens surveyed during Big Garden Birdwatch 2007. The word magpie is a shortened form of Margaret's pie and other local names include madge, marget, miggy and maggot.

----------

14. Long-tailed tit

The long-tailed tit is easily recognisable with its distinctive black, white and pink 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. It feeds on insects, but is increasingly visiting garden bird tables and nut feeders in winter, when insects are hard to find. During the 2007 Birdwatch, long-tailed tits were seen in almost a fifth (19 per cent) of gardens.

----------

15. Jackdaw

Smaller than a rook or a crow, the jackdaw is a blackish bird with a grey head, blackcap and white eyes. It has a distinctive ‘jack jack call’. It is sociable and usually seen in pairs or larger groups. It’s an acrobatic flier and flocks will often chase and tumble together in flight. On the ground it both walks and hops. The jackdaw feeds on insects, seeds and scraps. This is the first time the jackdaw has appeared in the Big Garden Birdwatch top 15, it was seen in nearly a fifth (16 per cent) of gardens surveyed for the 2008 Birdwatch.

----------