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Learn to Identify Your Garden Birds Garden Birds To Garden Birds Menu Page

Our garden birds are probably our closest and more 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 2013 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 house sparrow especially the female may be confused with dunnock, female chaffinch, tree sparrow,  female or young greenfinch

Dunnock

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

Main identifying features of the female are:


Both sexes have a white wing bar

Read more here

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:


Female Chaffinch

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


The main distinguishing  features are:


Identifying chaffinches


Tree Sparrow

The tree sparrow sexes are alike.


The main distinguishing  features are:


Greenfinch


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


The main distinguishing  features are:

Male:

Female:

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:


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:


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:



The great tit may be mistaken for a blue tit




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:

Young bird


Young birds may be mistaken for a blackbird.



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:

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




Stock Dove

Male and female stock doves are very much alike.


The main distinguishing  features are:



Chaffinch

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



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:

Female


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:


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:

Young bird


May be confused with bullfinch, male chaffinch



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:


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This article in sponsored by Hayes Garden World

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


The main distinguishing  features are:

Male

Female

Young bird


May be confused with house sparrow





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Blackbird

Printable PDF Bird ID chart