birdsid

Guide to Identifying Garden Birds

Our garden birds are probably our closest and most readily visible wildlife neighbours, but many go unnoticed or identified.

When I was teaching I was always surprised that most of my class of 11 year olds couldn’t identify even the most common of garden birds which they saw and ignored most days. Sparrow was the name given to any smallish bird that was vaguely brown.

Then one of our cleaners commented that there was a baby magpie on the playground. The baby magpie was in fact a pied wagtail so it was clear that it wasn’t just the children who had problem identifying garden birds.

According to the 2016 RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch results the most frequent bird visitors to our garden are:

We are lucky enough to have all of these species visit our garden and a few more. I also love taking bird photographs and so I thought I could make good use of my collection of photos by helping anyone struggling with bird identification. With a little practise most common garden birds are easily distinguishable. Just to help along the way here are a few pointers.

If you want to increase the number of bird species visiting then one way is to vary the type of food on offer and also to place food in a variety of feeding devices.

House Sparrow

A male house sparrow is a very distinctive bird, the main identifying features of the male are:

Dark grey cap
Paler greyer cheeks
Black bib (the larger area of bib, the more dominant the bird)
Main identifying features of the female are:
Pale stripe above the eye

Both sexes have a white wing bar

Read more here

A house sparrow especially the female may be confused with dunnock, female chaffinch, tree sparrow, female or young greenfinch

Dunnock

The dunnock is a much more slender bird more likely to be seen on the ground and is usually a solitary bird.

The sexes are alike and the main distinguishing features are:

Slender beak rather than the chunky sparrow beak
Grey head
Pinkish legs
No pale eyestripe

May be mistaken for a female house sparrow

Chaffinch

The female chaffinch could be confused for a female house sparrow but is generally lighter coloured.

The main distinguishing features are:

Distinctive white wing bars especially noticeable when flying off

The male chaffinch is much brighter than the browner female which may be mistaken for a female sparrow. One of the main noticeable features is the flash of white feathers when the bird takes off and is in flight

The main distinguishing features are:

Male:

Grey cap and shoulders
Pink breast and face – brighter in summer than winter months
White patches and bars on wings
Brown on top of its back
Bill less stubby or parrot-like than many finches

Female

Browner feathers overall
White patches and bars on wings

May be confused with bullfinch, house sparrow, robin

Tree Sparrow

The tree sparrow sexes are alike.

The main distinguishing features are:

Chestnut brown cap (not grey)
White cheek patches with black marking
Smaller black bib

May be mistaken for a house sparrow

Greenfinch

The greenfinch is a larger sturdier finch with a strong stubby looking beak.

The main distinguishing features are:

Male

Bright green in summer especially when the sun catches its feathers
Duller more olive green in winter
Yellow edging to wings and tail
Flash of yellow when it takes off
Darker patch around eyes
Grey on lower back
Pink legs

Female

Less brightly coloured
Streaky back
Yellow on wings and tail but not as vivid as the male
Pink legs
Young bird
Similar to female
Streaks more apparent

May be confused with house sparrow

Bullfinch

Bullfinches are stockier looking birds with strong looking short beaks. The female is less colourful than the male.

The main distinguishing features are:

Male:

Bright pink almost red underparts and cheeks
Black cap
Black ends to wings
Black tail
Grey back
White wing bar

Female

Pale pinkish fawn underparts and cheeks
Black cap
Dark grey ends to wings
Dark grey tail
Pinkish brown back
White wing bars

May be confused with chaffinch, robin

Read more here

Goldfinch

Goldfinches are smaller more delicate looking finches. Male and female a have the same unmistakable markings.

The main distinguishing features are:

Red face
White cheeks and ‘chin’
Top of the head and back of the neck is black
Light brown toffee coloured back and each side of chest
White underparts
Ends of wings are black with white markings
A band of yellow on the edge of the wings
Pink legs

Read more here

Robin

Male and female robins have the same markings and colouration. The robin is often portrayed as a round chubby bird but it can appears sleek or rounded depending on how fluffed up its feathers are.

The main distinguishing features are:

Orange red face and breast with grey edging
Pale brown back and cap
White lower underparts
Slender legs
On the ground often makes lots of flicking/bobbing movements
Young bird
Speckled - decreasing in number as the bird gets older
Red breast gradually develops usually starting from the lower chest.

May be confused with bullfinch, male chaffinch

Blackbird

The male blackbird is true to its name is black but the female is brown.

The main distinguishing features are:

Male:

Black feathers
Yellow beak
Yellow eye ring

Female:

Brown feathers
Slightly speckled breast
Brownish beak
Young blackbirds are brown and have more distinct speckles.

Females blackbirds may be confused with song thrush

Song Thrush

Male and female song thrushes are very similar

The main distinguishing features are:

Pale brown/buff coloured chest
Distinct speckles which are vaguely arrow-shaped pointing upwards

Starling

Male and female starlings are very much alike. Unless you can see them side by side the slight differences are not easily noticeable. Starlings walk rather than hop or bounce like a blackbird.

The main distinguishing features are:

Noisy and quarrelsome
Blackish body feathers
Long beak – yellow in summer
Brown grey beak in winter
White speckles
In spring feathers shine blue, green and purple
Brown markings along edges of flight feathers

Young bird

Brownish feather becoming brown-grey
Speckled underparts
Into first winter they are a mixture of adult and juvenile feather colouring.

Young birds may be mistaken for a female blackbird.

Blue Tit

The blue tit a small lively bird that will often be seen hanging upside down from twigs and feeders. The sexes are alike and the main distinguishing features are:

The main distinguishing features are:

Blue wings
Blue cap
Blue tail
Yellow front
Greenish back
White cheeks
Black mask around eyes

Read more here

A blue tit may be confused with a great tit

Great Tit

The great tit is larger (about the size of a sparrow) than the blue tit. Both sexes are similar, however the black stripe down the chest of the female is narrower.

The main distinguishing features are:

Black cap that extends over the eyes
Black neck and throat
Black stripe down chest
Yellow underparts
White cheeks
White bar on wings

The great tit may be mistaken for a blue tit

Long Tailed Tit

The long tailed tit is a tiny bird with a very long tail. It has the general appearance of a small pink powder puff. Male and females are not noticeably different.

The main distinguishing features are:

Very long tail – about half of the bird’s total length.
White stripe on the top of its head which extends down the back of the neck with a black stripe to either side giving almost a badger-like appearance
Pink shoulders
Underparts white changing to pink towards the tail
Very small beak
Red rings around the eyes
Black wings
Black tail with white edges
Dark almost black legs.

Wood Pigeon

Wood pigeons are very large birds that seems to be overweight. It is very noisy when it takes off as it claps its wings together above its head. Male and female birds have the same colouring.

The main distinguishing features are:

Small head in comparison to its body
Grey back and head
Pinkish underparts
Colourful green, pink and purple patch on the back of its head
White patches on ‘shoulders
White markings on wings
Pink legs
Pinkish curved beak
Yellow ring around the eye

Young birds are not as brightly coloured and don’t have the white patch on their necks so may be confused with the rarer Stock Dove

Wood pigeon may also be mistaken with feral pigeons

Read more here

Stock Dove

Male and female stock doves are very much alike.

The main distinguishing features are:

Bluish grey feathers
Breast slightly pinkish
Neck shines green, blue and purple
No white neck patch
No yellow ring around the eyes
Black markings on the wings

May be mistaken for wood pigeons or feral pigeons

Collared Dove

Male and female collared doves are very much alike.

The main distinguishing features are:

Pale grey/fawn feathers
Black half collar with white border round back of the neck
Darker coloured wing tips
Pink legs
Red eyes
Whitish ring around eyes
Black bill

In young birds the collar may be missing or less distinct