Bird Guide

Barn Owl

Scientific Name: Tyto alba

Appearance: Medium-sized owl with slim body and long wings. Plumage very pale, especially underside. Wings and head grey-buff. Heart-shaped face disk. Sexes alike.

Song: Female gives a drawn-out shriek, which may be repeated. Territorial call a drawn-out rattling shrrreee.

When heard: Resident, shrieks may be heard throughout the year. Males territorial calls at the beginning of the breeding season.

Example:

Bearded Tit

Scientific Name: Panurus biarmicus

Appearance: A small, light yellowish-brown bird with long tail. Male has blue-grey head, with long, black drooping moustache. Female head buffish-brown without moustache. Wings streaked black and white.

Song: Main call a repetitive “pinging”. Song 3-4 discordant, squeaky notes, pshin-dshick-tschreeh.

When heard: Resident, heard year round.

Example:

Bittern

Scientific Name: Botaurus stellaris

Appearance: Large, buff-brown heron, more compact than Grey Heron. Camouflages brilliantly with reeds, due to barring all over plumage.

Voice: Song a foghorn-like, far-carrying “booming”, usually repeated 3-5 times.

When heard: Resident but booming only heard at beginning on breeding season, February to May.

Example:

Black-headed Gull

Scientific Name: Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Appearance: Small- to medium-sized gull. In summer plumage, dark brown ‘hood’ with white ring around dark eye. Neck, chest and belly pure white. Wings uniform pale grey. Bill and legs deep red. White leading edge and black trailing edge on wings and white tail visible in flight. Sexes alike.

Voice: Raucous squealing, or laughing calls, ‘rolling’ kwarrr, or kee-arr, often delivered in flight.

When heard: Resident. Calls produced year-round by both sexes.

Example:

Blackbird

Scientific Name: Turdus merula

Appearance: Sexes differ. Adult male: dark, uniformly black with bright yellow bill and eye-ring. Female: dark brown with some lighter mottling on centre of throat and rufous tinge on breast. Yellow-brown bill.

Song: Melodic, fluent, vociferous but mellow whistling. Variable, with large repertoire of phrases, which often end with a high-pitched ‘scratchy’ flourish.

When heard: Resident. Full song from mid- to late-February, continuing through to the end of the breeding season in August or September.

Example:

Blackcap

Scientific Name: Sylvia atricapilla

Appearance: Fairly sturdy warbler. Plumage grey-brown above, greyish-white or pale olive-grey below. Plain greyish wings and tail. Crown glossy black in adult male, and brown in female and juvenile male.

Song: Fast, jumbled warbling. Phrases often begin with a low-amplitude, scratchy warble, accelerating and growing in volume to bright, clear notes. Singing bouts consist of similarly constructed phrases interspersed with regular gaps.

When heard: Mainly summer migrant. Males sing from April until the end of the breeding season in July or August.

Example:

Blue Tit

Scientific Name: Cyanistes caeruleus

Appearance: Smaller than great tit. Bright blue cap to crown, surrounded by white. Deep blue line through eye extending to back of head, collar and chin, with white cheeks. Green back and pale yellow underparts with thin, dark central streak. Blue wings display single white bar in flight. Sexes alike, although blues deeper in male on average.

Song: Rather simple, with clear, high opening notes followed by lower, slurred trill, tsee-tsee-tsee-tsisisisisi.

When heard: Resident. Males sing from February through to the end of the breeding period in June.

Example:

Bullfinch

Scientific Name: Pyrrhula pyrrhula

Appearance: Bill short and thick. ‘Hood’ formed by black cap, bill and chin. Wing and tail feathers black with bluish gloss. White rump and thick grey-white wing-bar obvious in flight. Body plumage differs in sexes. Male; pure, pale grey back, and vivid red-pink from ‘cheeks’ to chest and underparts. Female; dull brownish back and beige-grey underparts.

Song: Song infrequently used. Most commonly heard calls are low, soft whistles peuuw, deu or phiu produced by both sexes.

When heard: Resident. Contact calls described above heard year-round.

Example:

Buzzard

Scientific Name: Buteo buteo

Appearance: Mid-sized raptor with variable plumage. Typically, head, upperparts and chest rich, dark brown. Underparts with varying amounts of white, often forming a pale “U”-shape across middle of torso. Pale, barred underwings and finely-barred tail visible in flight. Short, powerful, hooked beak. Female larger.

Song: Distinctive, descending, mournful pee-yah or pee-oo, often produced in flight.

When heard: Resident. Call may be heard year-round, but most frequent February through April when pair perform display flights over territory.

Example:

Canada Goose

Scientific Name: Branta canadensis

Appearance: Head and neck black with white ‘chinstrap’. Upperparts and sides brown with pale-edged feathers creating a barred effect. Breast, rump and under-tail white. Legs and bill black.

Voice: Deep, loud, bugle-like, two-syllable ah-ronk!

When heard: Introduced. Calls heard year-round.

Example:

Cetti's Warbler

Scientific Name: Cettia cetti

Appearance: Medium-sized compact warbler, with short, rounded wings. Plumage uniform red-brown above, with dusky sides, extending to side of head. Sexes alike.

Song: Sudden and loud outburst of metallic, clanging notes. Starts tentatively, leading into a rapid series of similar notes.

When heard: Resident, may be heard year-round but mostly at start of breeding season, February to April.

Example:

Chaffinch

Scientific Name: Fringilla coelebs

Appearance: Sexes differ. Male: blue-grey head and bill, with brown-pink cheeks and throat. Upperparts brown, with greenish rump. Underparts rufous-pink. Female: head and upperparts light buffish-brown, and pale greyish underside. White on outer tail feathers and prominent double white wing-bar similar in both sexes.

Song: Cheerful, rattled, gradually descending phrase with a terminal flourish. Song bouts consist of similar phrases repeated at regular intervals.

When heard: Resident. Males begin singing by end of February and continue to the end of the breeding season in July.

Example:

Chiffchaff

Scientific Name: Phylloscopus collybita

Appearance: Small, dainty. Upperparts greyish-green, underparts off-white with a varying amount of yellow and buff on breast. Thin, off-white stripe over eye tinged with yellow. Thin, dark brown legs and fine, dark bill. Sexes alike.

Song: Highly distinctive, steady-paced repetition of few rather simple notes, chip-chap-chip-chap-chap-chup-chap-chap-chip.

When heard: Summer migrant. Males sing from March until the end of the breeding season in July or August. May also sing whilst on passage in autumn.

Example:

Coal Tit

Scientific Name: Periparus ater

Appearance: Smaller than great tit, slighter than blue tit. Black head with white cheek patches, as great tit, but with well-defined white patch on nape. Greyish back. Underparts bright greyish-buff, with no dark central streak. Wings dark grey displaying double white wing-bar in flight. Sexes alike.

Song: Quick, repetitive wi-choo wi-choo wi-choo or sweetu sweetu. Resembling great tit, but higher and more fluid.

When heard: Resident. Male birds can be heard singing from January through to the end of the breeding season in July.

Example:

Collared Dove

Scientific Name: Streptopelia decaocto

Appearance: Markedly smaller than woodpigeon. Small, rounded head, subtly tinged pink, as is breast. Dark, ruby-red eye. Thin, clear black collar on back of neck, often edged white. Body uniform greyish-fawn. Grey area on upperwings, dark wingtips and white tip on dark tail visible in flight. Sexes similar.

Song: Loud, three-note coo, cu-coo-cuk or cooo-coo-coo. Softer and shorter than five- or six-note woodpigeon coo.

When heard: Resident. Territorial coo produced throughout much of the year in an extended breeding season from January through to October.

Example:

Common Gull

Scientific Name: Larus canus

Appearance: A relatively small gull, slightly larger than Black-headed Gull. Similar to Herring Hull, but daintier with smaller bill and head.

Voice: “Laughing” call, ke ke ke kleeeh-a. Short call, distinctive thinly yelping keea.

When heard: Resident, heard year round.

Example:

Common Sandpiper

Scientific Name: Actitis hypoleucos

Appearance: Medium-small wader. Brown above and white below, with white “shoulder patch”, where white underside bleeds between carpal area and breast patch. Sexes alike.

Voice: Flight-call is a rapid series of clear, high-pitched notes, falling in pitch slightly, swee-swee-swee-swee-swuu.

When heard: Summer migrant, calls likely to be heard April to August.

Example:

Common Tern

Scientific Name: Sterna hirundo

Appearance: Underparts very pale grey. Upperparts darker grey. Black cap, extending down the nape. Long, red-orange bill with black tip. Short tail streamers.

Voice: Noisy at colonies and in flight generally, including short, sharp kit, rapid series of quarrelling kt-kt-kt-kt and typical kierri-kierri-kierri.

When heard: Summer migrant, likely to be heard April to September.

Example:

Coot

Scientific Name: Fulica atra

Appearance: Stocky, all-black rail. Black head with red eye and white facial shield and bill. Slate black-grey body. Legs yellow-green and grey with large, all-grey feet and lobed toes. Sexes alike.

Voice: Vocal and quarrelsome. Loud, explosive kowk! and softer variants on this, high-pitch pik!

When heard: Resident. Calls can be heard year-round.

Example:

Corn Bunting

Scientific Name: Emberiza calandra

Appearance: Big, heavy bodied bunting with stout bill. Plumage relatively plain, streaked grey-brown, lacking any real features. Sexes alike.

Song: Characteristic song, with a brief initial verse followed by squeaky, jangling ending.

When heard: Resident, song mainly heard throughout the breeding season, February to July.

Example:

Corncrake

Scientific Name: Crex crex

Appearance: Half the size of a Grey Partridge, like a Water Rail in shape. Plumage is reddish-brown with blue-grey face and chest and heavily spotted black on upperparts. Sexes alike.

Voice: Display call a persistently repeated, hoarse and mechanical, sharp rasping crex-crex.

When heard: Summer migrant, heard throughout breeding period, April to August.

Example:

Crossbill

Scientific Name: Loxia curvirostra

Appearance: A large, stocky finch with laterally overlapping bill, used to extract seeds from pinecones. Male brick-red, female greyish-green with yellowish-green rump.

Voice: Call a loud, metallic, fairly high-pitched glipp, usually repeated.

When heard: Resident, heard year round.

Example:

Cuckoo

Scientific Name: Cuculus canorus

Appearance: Fairly large size, with long, pointed wings and long, wedge-shaped tail. Short, thick, curved bill. Male: slate grey head, chin and throat, extending down breast. Medium grey upperparts. White underside with grey barring. Female: two colour morphs. Grey morph as male. Rarer rufous morph, upperparts rich rufous-cinnamon with well-spaced greyish-black barring, similar to juvenile.

Song: Males produce familiar loud, clear cuc-coo, sometimes cuc-cuc-coo. May be confused with collared dove, but syllables more sharply defined. Females produce less-frequently heard rich, throaty bubble.

When heard: Summer migrant. Males call upon arrival from mid- to late-April. Female bubbling calls produced slightly later during egg-laying period. Very short vocalisation period ends with departure as early as June.

Example:

Male:

Female:

Curlew

Scientific Name: Numenius arquata

Appearance: Large wading bird. Head, back and chest buff-brown streaked dark. Belly white, spotted dark. Long, evenly downcurved bill. Broad white ‘V’ on rump, banded tail and dark-tipped upperwings visible in flight. Larger and paler than whimbrel, lacking crown stripe. Sexes alike, although female larger on average.

Voice: Typical calls include loud, full, repeated whoy and longer cur-lew with rising emphasis on second syllable. Male ‘Song’ begins with low, drawn-out notes, accelerating into a bubbling trill.

When heard: Resident. Male’s bubbling song may be heard early in year and through the breeding season. Other calls produced by both sexes year-round.

Example:

Cur-lew call and bubbling song:

Dipper

Scientific Name: Cinclus cinclus

Appearance: Compact passerine with short tail. Plumage brown to red-brown, with large white bib. Sexes alike.

Song: Call is a short, sharp zrik. Song a slow, slightly subdued series of alternating harsh, squeaky and throaty notes, performed by both sexes.

When heard: Resident, song performed throughout the year.

Example:

Dunlin

Scientific Name: Calidris alpina

Appearance: A small wader with long bill. In winter, plumage grey above and white below. In summer, red-brown above, white below but with large black square on belly and streaked breast. Male is typically brighter than female.

Voice: Flight call a buzzing chrrreet. In display flight, gives ascending, strained rruee-rruee-rruee, which turns into hard, descending rurruurururu-ru-ru-ru ru ru.

When heard: Resident, heard year round but display flight only during breeding season.

Example:

Dunnock

Scientific Name: Prunella modularis

Appearance: Similar in size to robin. Head and back rufous-brown with dark streaks. Supercilium, collar, throat and breast lead-grey. Orange-brown legs and fine, dark bill. Thin, white wing bar on relatively short, rounded, brown wings visible in flight. Sexes alike. Often encountered feeding on ground, flicking tail as it moves.

Song: Fast, shrill, jumbled warble with little variation in pitch throughout. Song bouts consist of similarly constructed phrases repeated at regular intervals.

When heard: Resident. Along with song thrush, one of the earliest regular singers in the year. Males sing from January/February through to the end of the breeding season, which may extend into September.

Example:

Eider

Scientific Name: Somateria mollissima

Appearance: Large, heavily built duck with wedge-shaped bill. Male largely white with black belly, sides and tail. Head white with black crown and pale green nape. Female is mostly brown with dark barring.

Voice: Male has characteristic, cooing display call, a-ooh-e. Female has incessant chuckling gak-ak-ak-ak.

When heard: Resident, mostly vocal during breeding season.

Example:

Gadwall

Scientific Name: Anas strepera

Appearance: Slightly smaller than Mallard, with slimmer build. Male is finely vermiculated grey, with white speculum and black under and uppertail coverts. Female resembles female Mallard, but with white speculum and belly.

Voice: Male has a high-pitched whistled pee in courtship.

When heard: Resident but courtship only in spring.

Example:

Garden Warbler

Scientific Name: Sylvia borin

Appearance: Large, robust warbler with round head and short, thick bill. Overall very plain appearance with few distinguishing features in plumage. Head and upperparts pale buff-brown with thin, pale eye-ring and short, ill-defined dusky-white stripe over eye. Pale grey patch on side of neck. Underparts pale buff. Sexes alike.

Song: Fast, varied and jumbled warbling. Very similar to Blackcap, but can be distinguished with experience. Typically, more even-paced, without the rising emphasis of Blackcap, and with a more ‘scratchy’ overtone.

When heard: Summer visitor. One of the final passerines to arrive. Males can be heard from late-April through to the end of breeding in late-July.

Example:

Goldcrest

Scientific Name: Regulus regulus

Appearance: Tiny, ‘neckless’ outline. Plumage greenish above and dusky grey-white below. Off-white around eye and bill. Dark wings, displaying a broad white bar in flight. Broad black stripe on crown, with centre yellow and bright glossy orange in male, and yellow in female.

Song: High-pitched, fast, cyclical ‘jingling’ phrase with final flourish. Song bouts consist of similar phrases repeated at regular intervals.

When heard: Resident. Males sing from February onwards through to the end of the breeding season in August or September.

Example:

Golden Plover

Scientific Name: Pluvialis apricaria

Appearance: A dainty plover, with yellowish-brown mottling above. In summer, face to belly is black, separated from upperparts by a white bar. Black solid in male, patchy in female. In winter, belly white and breast finely barred.

Song: Call a flat whistle, puu. Song plaintive, rhythmic given is display flight, pu-peee-oo, repeated and often followed quicker but subdued perpurrlya-perpurrlya-perpurrlya.

When heard: Resident, song may be heard in breeding season in uplands. Calls heard commonly in winter, typically at coastal sites.

Example:

Goldfinch

Scientific Name: Carduelis carduelis

Appearance: Bold, black and white head with red face. Tawny-brown back. Tawny patch on either side of breast, extending down flanks. Underparts off-white. Broad yellow panel on black, white-tipped wings obvious in flight. Black tail with white spots on trailing half. Sharp, pale bill. Sexes alike.

Song: Sweet, musical and varied. Mixed 'tinkling' call-like notes and fluid trills.

When heard: Resident. Male song most intense during nest-building stage, which may occur two or three times in breeding season extending from late-March to end of August.

Example:

Grasshopper Warbler

Scientific Name: Locustella naevia

Appearance: Upperparts olive-brown. Crown and rump finely streaked, and back prominently streaked dark. Underparts buffish off-white or pale yellowish. Streaking of underparts varies, many are scarcely marked. Long, broad, rounded tail. Sexes alike.

Song: Persistent, constant high-pitch, mechanical ‘reel’. Appears to fade and rise in volume as the bird turns his head.

When heard: Summer visitor. Males can be heard singing upon arrival in mid-April through to the end of breeding in August. Once paired, song is confined to dusk and dawn.

Example:

Great Black-backed Gull

Scientific Name: Larus marinus

Appearance: The largest gull, with a deep, heavy bill. Back is very dark grey, appearing black. Separated from Lesser Black-backed Gull by darkness of back, pink legs and sheer size.

Voice: Similar to Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls but much deeper and typically hoarse and gruff. “Laughing” display call is slower and shorter.

When heard: Resident, heard year round.

Example:

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Scientific Name: Dendrocopos major

Appearance: Upperparts bold black and white. Underparts bright buff with sharply demarcated red patch under tail. Large white ‘shoulder’ patches and white-barring on black wings displayed in flight. Male has crimson patch on back of head, absent in female.

Song: Loud, short, fast drumming of beak on surface of tree. Also, sharp vocal tchik and a fast chattering alarm rattle.

When heard: Resident. Drumming; from mid-January to start of nesting in April or May. Calls; year-round.

Example:

Great Tit

Scientific Name: Parus major

Appearance: Large tit. Head black with white cheek patch. Crown and throat glossy in male. Green back. Underparts yellow with broad black central stripe, narrower in female. Blue-grey wings, displaying a single off-white wing bar in flight.

Song: Variation on repeated two-syllable phrase. May be sharp and ‘metallic’, soft and musical or harsh and grating. Pace may be steady or fast; tea-cher tea-cher tea-cher or seetoo seetoo seetoo.

When heard: Resident. Males may be heard singing from as early as January through to the end of breeding in July.

Example:

Green Woodpecker

Scientific Name: Picus viridis

Appearance: Large woodpecker, often encountered on the ground. Large, dagger-like beak. Vivid red cap, black around pale-coloured eye, and pale green ‘cheeks’. Male has black ‘moustache’ with a red centre, all-black in female. Upperparts apple-green. Underparts yellowish. White-barred, dark grey wing-tips and bright yellow-green rump obvious in flight.

Song: Most commonly heard call is raucous, slightly descending territorial ‘yaffle’. May be likened to some raptor calls.

When heard: Resident. ‘Yaffle’ call peaks February through April. Quieter outside of this period, but may be heard year-round.

Example:

Greenfinch

Scientific Name: Chloris chloris

Appearance: Sexes differ. Male: Apple-green plumage above and below. Dark patch between eye and bill. Yellow edging to flight feathers visible as stripe with wings closed. Yellow-edged tail feathers. Grey wings with dark tips visible in flight. Female: overall duller plumage than male, with dull, dark streaking. Less extensive yellow on wings and tail. Both sexes have heavy, conical, pale bill.

Song: Disorderly-sounding series of trills and call notes of varying pace. Some musical, others metallic, intermixed with wheezing, buzzy dzweee.

When heard: Resident. Male song produced from March through to end of breeding season in August.

Example:

Grey Heron

Scientific Name: Ardea cinerea

Appearance: Unmistakeable large, pale grey heron. Large dagger-like bill yellow, orange or pink. Head white with long, narrow, black head plume. Long neck grey-white with black spotting to front. Upperparts uniform pale grey. Underparts white. Broad wings with black tips and long trailing legs visible in flight. Sexes alike.

Voice: Harsh, abrupt fraink! often delivered in flight. Harsh, rattling and croaking calls at nest.

When heard: Resident. Flight call heard tear-round. Nesting calls heard from February through to end of breeding in September.

Example:

Grey Partridge

Scientific Name: Perdix perdix

Appearance: Face is orange-brown. Upperparts are speckled brown. Underparts finely vermiculated ash-grey, with chestnut-brown streaks on the flanks. Male has dark brown belly patch that is much reduced on females, which are duller generally.

Voice: Performed by both sexes, a hoarse and abruptly clipped kier-ik.

When heard: Resident, heard year round, typically at dusk or night.

Example:

Grey Wagtail

Scientific Name: Motacilla cinerea

Appearance: Very long-tailed wagtail. All plumages have grey upperparts with dark wings and a bright yellow vent. On males, yellow continues up entire underside, to a black bib. Females have duller underparts and lack black bib.

Song: Call a sharp, high-pitched zi-zi. Song a short, mechanical series of sharp notes, ziss-ziss-ziss.

When heard: Resident, song may be heard year round, though less commonly in winter.

Example:

Greylag Goose

Scientific Name: Anser anser

Appearance: Head plain pale brown with large orange bill. Upperparts dark brown with pale edging on feathers. Underparts pale grey-brown with brown 'barring'. Under-tail white. Legs pink (rarely orange). Pale underwings and very pale blue-grey upperwings visible in flight. Sexes alike.

Voice: Loud, clattering and honking notes. Grating and strained.

When heard: Introduced resident and winter visitor. Calls heard year-round.

Example:

Hawfinch

Scientific Name: Coccothraustes coccothraustes

Appearance: A big finch, with very powerful, triangular bill, thick neck and head and short tail. Base plumage is rusty-brown and buff, with black, white and grey accents. Male differs from female with all-black flight feathers, some with blueish tinge, compared to greying edging in females.

Song: Call very hard and sharp clicking, pix! Song rather quiet, stumbling series of zih and zrri notes.

When heard: Resident, heard year round.

Example:

Herring Gull

Scientific Name: Larus argentatus

Appearance: Large, robust gull. Head, neck, chest and belly pure white. Back and wings uniform pale grey. Eye and bill yellow. Legs pale pink. White spots on black wingtips and white tail visible in flight. Sexes alike.

Voice: Familiar long call begins with several strained high-pitch introductory notes before loud series of trumpeting notes, delivered in standing posture with head jerked upwards. Other loud, short squeals and low barks, kyow or ga-ga-ga often delivered in flight.

When heard: Resident. Long call may be heard year-round, particularly in late-winter and the summer breeding season.

Example:

House Martin

Scientific Name: Delichon urbicum

Appearance: Head and back glossy blue-black. Throat and whole underparts white, and white-feathered legs. White rump and moderately forked tail with no streamers visible in flight. Blackish wings held relatively straight in flight. Sexes alike.

Song: Seemingly improvised twittering of chatters and chirruping notes, similar to those uttered in flight.

When heard: Summer visitor. Song and calls heard from arrival in April through to the end of breeding, which may continue into October.

Example:

House Sparrow

Scientific Name: Passer domesticus

Appearance: Sexes differ. Male: grey crown and rufous sides of head. Black throat ‘bib’. Rufous and buff back, streaked black, and pale, greyish rump. Underparts unmarked grey. Female: plain-looking, dull grey-brown tinged olive above, lighter grey-buff below. Yellow-brown crown and rather wide, pale stripe behind eye. Both sexes have heavy, conical bill, and single whitish wing-bar visible in flight.

Song: Simple, monotonous, cheerful chirping. Repeated, ‘rolling’ chirrup.

When heard: Resident. Male chirping song produced during extended breeding period, from January through to September.

Example:

Jackdaw

Scientific Name: Corvus monedula

Appearance: Markedly smaller than carrion crow or rook. Plumage dark, sooty-grey. Face, throat and crown black. Sides of head, neck and nape pale grey. Wings black with bluish gloss, also appearing dark purplish and green. Iris light grey or white. Short, thick bill. Sexes alike.

Song: Many calls based on short, sharp yapping sound kyak!, often produced in flight, or a more rolling churr or chee-ar. Noisy when in flocks.

When heard: Resident. Calls described above produced year-round.

Example:

Jay

Scientific Name: Garrulus glandarius

Appearance: Smaller than jackdaw. White crown striped dark, white throat and thick black ‘moustache’. Body plumage pinkish grey-brown. Light blue panel barred dark on wings. White patch on black wings and large white rump evident in flight. Black tail and short, thick, dark bill. Sexes alike.

Song: Large repertoire of varied, but largely simple, calls, including mimcry of, e.g., buzzard, sparrowhawk, carrion crow. Soft, quiet ‘song’ rarely heard or described. Most frequently heard vocalisations are nasal mewing pee-oo, or loud, harsh skairk!, likened to the sound of tearing cloth.

When heard: Resident. Commoner calls described above produced year-round.

Example:

Kestrel

Scientific Name: Falco tinnunculus

Appearance: Sexes differ. Male: Blue-grey head with white throat. Back pale rufous with black spotting. Rump and tail plain blue-grey. Female: Larger size. Head, back and tail pale chestnut. Back, wings and tail heavily barred black. Underparts on both sexes whiteish with thin, dark streaking on chest and dark spotting on belly.

Voice: Nasal, quavering keee-eee-eeee and variants.

When heard: Resident. Calls from both sexes can be heard year round, but most vocal during breeding from March to September.

Example:

Kingfisher

Scientific Name: Alcedo atthis

Appearance: Unmistakeable, small, plump, bright blue and orange bird. Male has all black bill, whilst female has red base to lower mandible.

Voice: Flight-call is a short, sharp whistled zii, occasionally repeated.

When heard: Resident, heard year round.

Example:

Lapwing

Scientific Name: Vanellus vanellus

Appearance:Distinctive medium-sized wader. Black and white head with black cap that extends to wispy crest. Black extends down throat, neck and chest. Back dark-green with purple and copper sheen. Underparts pure white. Broad, rounded wings, dark above and white below, lend to distinctive outline in flight. Short, dark bill. Sexes similar.

Song: Toy-like squeaking, whee-er-ee, a wheep-wheep! Delivered in tumbling territorial display flight accompanied by throbbing wing-beats. Other calls include nasal, strained weet or pee-wit.

When heard: Resident. Territorial display ‘song’ heard early in breeding season from March. Other calls can be heard year-round.

Example:

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Scientific Name: Larus fuscus

Appearance: A large gull, with very dark grey back. Separated from Great Black-backed Gull by slightly lighter upperparts and yellow legs.

Voice: All calls quite nasal. “Laughing” display call a loud, clanging aau… kyyaa-kya-kya-kya-kya, like Herring Gull but more nasal.

When heard: Resident some parts, a summer migrant in the north. Display call heard in spring.

Example:

Lesser Redpoll

Scientific Name: Acanthis flammea

Appearance: Small finch. Greyish-brown and dark-streaked, with small yellowish finch-type bill and red forecrown. Male develops bright red on breast in spring.

Song: Call a metallic, repeated chett-chett-chett. Song similar to the call but interspersed with dry, reeling serrrrr.

When heard: A partial migrant, present year round but most numerous in winter when calls mostly likely to be heard.

Example:

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Scientific Name: Dendrocopos minor

Appearance: The smallest woodpecker, with a weak bill. Black upperparts, barred white. White underparts with faint streaking. Black bar on side of head, male had red crown, black on female. Lacks red undertail coverts of Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Song: A series of piping, straight notes, piit piit piit piit piit piit piit. Also drums, but weak and typically rattling.

When heard: Resident, song and drumming heard in early spring, February to April.

Example:

Lesser Whitethroat

Scientific Name: Curruca curruca

Appearance: Crown olive- or blue-grey, with darker grey ‘cheeks’ and clear white throat. Back grey-brown. Underparts whitish tinged pale pink with centre of belly pure white. Tail dark with white on outer tail feathers visible in flight. Legs dark slate-grey. Sexes similar.

Song: Begins with brief, quiet, scratchy warble, followed by louder ‘rattle’.

When heard: Summer visitor. Males sing upon arrival in mid- to late-April, but cease abruptly once paired, resulting in a brief singing period.

Example:

Linnet

Scientific Name: Linaria cannabina

Appearance: Sexes differ. Male: Pale grey head with pale red forehead and a pale cheek spot. Plain rufous or cinnamon-brown back. Pink-red chest. Dark wings and tail feathers edged white. Female: Streaked plumage with no red. Upperparts brown streaked black. Tawny-buff chest with brown streaking and white belly.

Song: Cheerful, musical and varied mix of warbles, trills and chatters.

When heard: Resident. Males sing from March onwards through to the end of breeding in September.

Example:

Little Grebe

Scientific Name: Tachybaptus ruficollis

Appearance: The smallest grebe, with a shortish neck and dumpy body. Plumage generally browny-buff, with chestnut cheeks and foreneck in summer. Prominent pale-yellow gape. Sexes alike.

Voice: Varying high-pitched calls accelerating into a rattling trill, bibibibibibibi.

When heard: Calls only during breeding season.

Example:

Little Owl

Scientific Name: Athene noctua

Appearance: A small and compact owl with large, broadly rounded head. Brown above, speckled white. White below with heavy brown streaks. White “eyebrows” giving stern expression. Sexes alike.

Voice: Call a sharp, complaining kee-ew, falling in pitch and often repeated. Song slightly drawn-out, low-pitched hoot with ending upward-inflected, goooek.

When heard: Resident, heard year round.

Example:

Long-tailed Tit

Scientific Name: Aegithalos caudatus

Appearance: Tiny, neckless, ‘ball-shaped’ outline, with long tail. Crown white, with heavy black band from eye down side of neck. Upperparts black, white and pinkish-brown. Underparts dull white. Tail black with outer feathers white. Dark wings. Very short, dark bill. Sexes alike.

Song: Song is very rarely used. Most frequently heard vocalisations in a limited repertoire are contact calls as the birds travel in small family groups. A high, thin seee seee, or a short, abrupt trrp or longer zerrrp or tsirrup.

When heard: Resident. Contact calls described above are produced year-round.

Example:

Magpie

Scientific Name: Pica pica

Appearance: Striking, long-tailed black and white crow. Plumage black from head to back and breast. White underparts, and large white ‘shoulder’ patch. Tail and wings blackish with metallic gloss of green, blue and purple. Bill black. Sexes alike.

Song: Soft, chattering, squeaky, musical song rarely heard. Harsh, chattering, mechanical rattle is most frequently heard vocalisation.

When heard: Resident. Rattle vocalisation produced year-round. Presumably, soft song is produced during the breeding season from February through to August.

Example:

Mallard

Scientific Name: Anas platyrhynchos

Appearance: Sexes differ. Male: Unmistakeable. Head metallic bottle-green with yellow bill and narrow white collar. Breast purple-brown. Body finely patterned grey and brown. Rump deep blue-black with dark, curled central feathers on otherwise white tail. Speculum purple-blue edged white. Legs orange. Female: Head brown, finely streaked black. Dark crown and stripe through eye. Body brown, mottled, spotted and streaked blackish. Bill olive-brown. Speculum blue edged white.

Voice: Male: quiet whistles or relatively soft, 'rolling' wac-wac-wac. Female: loud, raucous, sharp quack-quack!

When heard: Resident. Calls can be heard year-round.

Example:

Male:

Female:

Marsh Tit

Scientific Name: Poecile palustris

Appearance: Small size. Large, glossy black crown extending to back of neck. Small, neat, black ‘bib’ on chin, and white ‘cheeks’. Upperparts plain grey-brown. Underparts off-white, tinged grey-brown or buff on flanks and sides of breast. Small, rounded, plain grey-brown wings. Sexes alike.

Song: Relatively simple, rolling schip-schip-schip-schip repeated at regular intervals. Distinctive, loud pit-chew! contact call more frequently heard.

When heard: Resident. Song infrequently heard, although peak production is February to April. Contact call heard year-round.

Example:

Song:

Call:

Meadow Pipit

Scientific Name: Anthus pratensis

Appearance: Head and back olive- or yellow-brown with black streaks. Pale stripe over eye and dark steak on side of neck. Buff or creamy underside evenly-streaked black. Pale orange-brown legs with long hind claw. Dark tail with broad white sides visible in flight. Sexes alike.

Song: Long repetition of sweet, simple notes that gradually descend in frequency before rising again to end. Often delivered in flight, with the bird starting and ending on the ground.

When heard: Resident. Males can be heard singing from March through to the end of breeding in August. Individual birds will cease singing during incubation.

Example:

Mistle Thrush

Scientific Name: Turdus viscivorus

Appearance: Larger than blackbird. Upperparts grey-brown. Underparts creamy-white, boldly spotted dark. White underwings, white tail corners and pale rump obvious in flight. Overall paler, colder appearance than song thrush. Sexes alike.

Song: Loud, flutey, melancholy whistling. Often delivered from high perch as short, repetitive phrases. Repertoire and frequency range not as varied as blackbird or song thrush.

When heard: Resident. Males sing from February through to the end of the breeding season in July.

Example:

Moorhen

Scientific Name: Gallinula chloropus

Appearance: Head slate-grey, with red eye and bright red face ‘shield’ and bill. Upperparts rich brown. Underparts slate-grey. Diagonal white stripe demarcates upper and underparts. Bold white patch under tail. Legs green with long, unlobed, green toes. Smaller and less heavily-built than coot. Sexes alike.

Voice: Loud, abrupt, throaty calls, often delivered from cover, purr-uk!, softer, more ‘rolling’ prruk, or high-pitch, squeaky toy-like kik!

When heard: Resident. Calls heard year-round. Female advertising prruk! more likely during breeding season from March through to September.

Example:

Mute Swan

Scientific Name: Cygnus olor

Appearance: Huge, with very long neck. Plumage white. Bill orange-red with prominent black knob. Sexes alike.

Voice: Most commonly heard call is an explosive, snorting heeorr. Aggressive call a mean, snake-like hissing.

When heard: Resident, heard year round.

Example:

Nightingale

Scientific Name: Luscinia megarhynchos

Appearance: Upperparts warm, rufous brown. Throat and side of neck grey. Underside grey-buff. Rump and tail bright rufous. Sexes alike.

Song: Loud, rich and extremely varied. Phrases appear delivered haphazardly, but with unmistakeable quality in the notes, which may change abruptly in frequency. Often utters long, slow, plaintive whistles that build to a full, throaty warble.

When heard: Summer visitor. Males sing from arrival in mid- to late-April, when they can be heard singing through the night. Nocturnal song ceases upon pairing, but diurnal song continues through to the end of breeding in July.

Example:

Nightjar

Scientific Name: Caprimulgus europaeus

Appearance: A slim, rakish bird. Plumage is incredibly cryptic, mottled brown, buff-white, grey and black all over. Male differs from female by presence of conspicuous white spots on wings and tail corners.

Voice: Song a far carrying “churr”. Call a frog-like krruit.

When heard: Summer migrant, heard May to August.

Example:

Nuthatch

Scientific Name: Sitta europaea

Appearance: Intermediate in size between blue tit and great tit. Short tail, long, dagger-like bill. Black stripe through eye. Upperparts uniformly blue-grey. Underparts warm buff-brown, male with deep rufous-red on flanks. Wings relatively short and broad, dark- and blue-grey.

Song: Fast, low, rolling, clear trill, repeated at regular intervals.

When heard: Resident. Song described above can be heard from January through to the end of breeding in June. Rarely or intermittently heard throughout remainder of year.

Example:

Oystercatcher

Scientific Name: Haematopus ostralegus

Appearance: Large, bulky wader. Striking black and white plumage, with long, straight, bright orange-red bill. Sexes alike.

Voice: Flight call a distinctive, shrill peep. ‘Piping call’ has similar shrill quality, varying phrases may include, kip kip kip-kip-kip, kli-klikli and a bubbling trill, prrrr.

When heard: Resident, likely to be heard year round.

Example:

Pheasant

Scientific Name: Phasianus colchicus

Appearance: Large gamebird with long, tapered tail. Male: Glossy green-black head with fleshy, vivid red eye-patch. With or without white neck-ring. Glossy bronze or copper breast with dark spots and orange-copper flanks. Pale rump may be obvious in flight. Female: Plumage pale brown with bold black markings, particularly on upperparts.

Song: Loud, harsh, explosive corr-kok! Followed immediately by a sudden burst of ‘whirring’ wingbeats.

When heard: Introduced. Male advertising call and wingbeats produced during the breeding period from March to July. Similar calls may be heard year-round.

Example:

Pied Flycatcher

Scientific Name: Ficedula hypoleuca

Appearance: Similar in size to robin. Sexes differ. Male: Striking black and white plumage. Black head with white patch on forehead, often divided into two spots. Upperparts black. Underparts pure white. Bold white wing patch contrasts with blackish wings. Tail black, often with white sides. Female: brown above with slight greyish tinge. Buffish-white throat and underparts. White wing patch on brown wings.

Song: Brief, fairly simple, sweet-sounding musical phrase, consisting of few well-defined syllables, with a hesitant 'stop/start' feel. Song bouts consist of similarly constructed but not identical phrases, repeated at regular intervals.

When heard: Summer migrant. Relatively short singing period commences on arrival of males in mid- to late-April through to the end of nesting in July.

Example:

Pied Wagtail

Scientific Name: Motacilla alba

Appearance: Black cap, chin and throat with white face. Male back black or in female dark olive-grey. Rump black or blackish-grey. Chest black, with dark grey flanks and white belly. Long, white-edged, black tail.

Song: Disorderly mix of simple calls, call-like chirrups and trills.

When heard: Resident. Males sing from March through to the end of breeding in August.

Example:

Ptarmigan

Scientific Name: Lagopus muta

Appearance: Plumage varies between seasons. In winter, all white with black bill. In summer, retains white belly, legs and patches of the wings but males greyish above, spangled white, and females buffish grey. Male also has red wattles.

Voice: All calls similar, low, belching sounds, for example arr orr ka-karrr.

When heard: Resident, heard year round.

Example:

Quail

Scientific Name: Coturnix coturnix

Appearance: A very small gamebird, Plumage is mainly buff-brown with dark brown markings above and on breast and head. Male has black throat, white on female.

Song: A rhythmic, trisyllabic phrase, rapidly repeated, but bul-ut ("wet my lips").

When heard: Summer migrant, heard mainly May to June.

Example:

Raven

Scientific Name: Corvus corax

Appearance: The largest passerine, bigger than a buzzard. Plumage all black with metallic sheen. Long, proportionally narrow, wings with “fingered” hand. Wedge-shaped tail. Sexes alike.

Voice: Call a loud, deep, clanging, jarring korrrp, with rolled r-sound, sometimes repeated 3-4 times.

When heard: Resident, heard year round.

Example:

Red Grouse

Scientific Name: Lagopus lagopus scotica

Appearance: All plumages dark brown. Male has reddish tinge and red wattle above eye. Female is paler with ochrous edges and no wattle.

Voice: Main call from male an accelerating series of loud, nasal barks, ending in a trill, kau, kau kau-ka-ka-kakarrrr. Alternative call uttered in flight is ke-u,ke-kerrrrr-ke-kerrehe ehe ehe, slowing down at the end.

When heard: Resident, main call from male heard during spring, but vocal at all times of the year.

Example:

Red-legged Partridge

Scientific Name: Alectoris rufa

Appearance: Striking plumage. Basal colour is brown, with blue-grey breast, uppertail and streaks along flanks. Face is white, with black stripe through eye and ear-coverts, leading down to black-streaked neck shawl. Sexes alike.

Voice: Rhythmic series of hoarse notes. Begins with a few clucks, turning into a three-syllable phrase at cantering pace, chu chu chu chu ka-cheh-cheh.

When heard: Resident, heard year round.

Example:

Redshank

Scientific Name: Tringa totanus

Appearance: Medium-sized wader. Upperparts grey-brown with dark-brown barring and spotting. Pale eye-ring. Belly whitish with black spots. Straight, red-based bill and bright red legs. Broad white band on upperwing, white rump and barred tail visible in flight. Sexes alike.

Voice: Very vocal. Loud, bouncing, piping calls, tyew-yu-yu,teu-teu-hu, sharp, agitated tewk,tewk.

When heard: Resident. Calls can be heard year-round.

Example:

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