Garden birds of Britain

The week, a closer look at some of our garden birds

Blackbird

The unimaginatively named blackbird is one of the most common UK birds. The bright orange-yellow beak and eye-ring make adult male blackbirds a striking garden visitor, and its beautiful song is much admired.



Robin redbreast – the UK’s favourite bird

The robin topped a poll of more than 200,000 people in 2015 to choose the UK's first national bird. With its bright red breast, it is a familiar site in British gardens throughout the year, especially at Christmas.



House sparrow - Mankind's feathered companion

The House Sparrow, noisy, cheerful, and dead common - until suddenly they weren't. Data suggests the UK's house sparrow population declined by 66% between 1977 and 2015, with urban populations faring worse than rural ones.



Blue Tit - the birdbox bird

This small, pretty and agile bird is a common garden visitor in Britain. The blue tit's acrobatic feats, fondness for hanging feeders and propensity to take up residence in bird boxes has made it a firm favourite with the British public.



The interesting Dunnock - don't call it a sparrow

If you see a quiet little brown bird hopping about in the garden - don't assume that it's a Sparrow. It may be a Dunnock, a common but unobtrusive British garden bird with an unusual sex life.



Song Thrush

The song thrush is a familiar garden visitor that has a beautiful and loud song. The broken shells of their blue, spotty eggs can often be found under a hedge in spring. Sadly, this tuneful bird is less common than it used to be in Britain.