KS1 (Age 5-7)KS2 (Age 7-11)11 Plus (Age 7-11)KS3 (Age 11-14)GCSE (Age 14-17)PSHE A.I.ESL Spanish Specialist Games

Need help with British Birds - Garden Birds 02 - Fairly Common? Ask our AI Tutor!

AI Tutor - Lucy

Connecting with Tutor...

Please wait while we establish connection

Hi! I'm Lucy, your AI tutor. How can I help you with British Birds - Garden Birds 02 - Fairly Common today?

now

The vivid green and yellow plumage on adult birds tends to fade in winter. Can you identify it?

British Birds - Garden Birds 02 - Fairly Common

Build your bird-spotting skills with fairly common UK garden visitors. Use shape, movement and habitat clues to identify similar-looking species with confidence.

Explore the Topic →

(quiz starts below)

Fascinating Fact:

Long-tailed tits travel in busy family groups, and their tiny, high calls often give them away before you spot them.

In Specialist Nature, “fairly common” garden birds are a brilliant next step after the very easiest species. Many are small, quick, and easily confused at first glance. Try using a simple checklist: size (tiny, small, medium), where it feeds (lawn, feeder, hedge, tree), and how it moves (hops, creeps, swoops). Listening helps too, because calls and songs can be more reliable than colour in poor light. Over time, you will start noticing patterns, such as which birds prefer dense shrubs, which arrive in groups, and which are most active at dawn and dusk.

Key Terms

Field marks: Small visual clues that help identify a bird, such as wing bars, an eye stripe, or the shape of its tail.
Foraging: Searching for food, for example pecking on the ground, probing bark, or picking insects from leaves.
Cover: Plants or places that shelter birds from weather and predators, such as hedges, thick shrubs, or evergreen trees.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How do I identify small garden birds in the UK?

Start with size and shape, then check where the bird is feeding and how it moves. Look for field marks like wing bars or an eye stripe, and listen for a distinctive call.

Why do some garden birds arrive in groups?

Some species feed together because it helps them find food and stay safer from predators. A group has more eyes watching for danger, so birds can spend more time feeding.

What should I feed fairly common UK garden birds?

A mix works best: sunflower hearts or seed mixes for feeders, suet products for extra energy, and mealworms for insect-eaters. Always provide fresh water and keep feeding areas clean.

Try These Related Quizzes

To see a larger image, click on the picture.

1 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Smalljim

Dunnock

Snow Bunting

Lapland Bunting

Common Starling

Group: Accentors
Binomial: Prunella modularis
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Prunellidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
Also known as Hedge Sparrow
Intricate light and dark brown markings
Adults have some grey on their heads but this is absent in young birds
Its movements are altogether more agitated than house sparrows

2 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Taco Meeuwsen

Blackbird

Northern Wheatear

European Stonechat

Song Thrush

Group: Thrushes
Binomial: Turdus philomelos
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
Easily confused with young and female Blackbirds
Does not stand as upright at Blackbirds and Mistle Thrushes
Has warm brown upper parts and paler underparts with small dark spots

3 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of http://www.photo-natur.de/

Lesser Redpoll

Chaffinch

Eurasian Linnet

European Greenfinch

Group: Finches
Binomial: Carduelis chloris
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
The vivid green and yellow plumage on adult birds tends to fade in winter
Young birds are rather dull looking and can easily be mistaken for Sparrows
Loves to pick the peanuts and sunflower seeds from birdtables

4 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Alexander Gamauf

Feral Pigeon

Great Bittern

Rough-legged Buzzard

Northern Gannet

Group: Pigeons and Doves
Binomial: Columba livia
Order: Columbiformes
Family: Columbidae
Status: Resident, Most Birds Are Of Feral Origin
A familiar site in towns and cities, pecking at scraps of food
Descended from the Rock Dove but breeding with other types of pigeon and dove has resulted in great diversity

5 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of M Prinke

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Carrion Crow

Jackdaw

European Magpie

Group: Crows and allies
Binomial: Corvus monedula
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
The smallest member of the Crow family
In flight it has faster wing beats than Rooks and Carrion Crows
Loves shiny objects and is prone to stealing jewels and rings left unattended outside

6 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of http://www.photo-natur.de/

Long-tailed Tit

Coal Tit

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Green Woodpecker

Group: Long-tailed Tits
Binomial: Aegithalos caudatus
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Aegithalidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
Adult birds are predominatly pinkish-white
The longest tail of any British bird in relation to its body
Scientifically this is NOT in the same family as the Blue Tit and the Great Tit

7 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Martien Brand

Little Egret

Wren

Common Kingfisher

Sooty Shearwater

Group: Wren
Binomial: Troglodytes troglodytes
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Troglodytidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
Tiny birds that weigh about the same as a £1.00 coin
Forever twitching and moving around
Tail sticks out from the body at an oddly twisted angle
Very loud voice for such a small bird

8 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Tom Tarrant (Aviceda)

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Coal Tit

Crested Tit

Group: Tits
Binomial: Parus ater
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Paridae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
The smallest tit in the whole of Europe
Behaviour is similar to that of Blue tits but there is no blue in its plumage
The surest way to distinguish the bird from other tits is by the white patch on the back of its neck

9 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of BS Thurner Hof

European Magpie

Eurasian Jay

Carrion Crow

Common Cuckoo

Group: Crows and allies
Binomial: Corvus corone
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
Larger than a Jackdaw but smaller than a Raven
Look for feathers around the base of its beak to distinguish it from a Rook
Remember "If you see more than two Crows together they are Rooks"!

10 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Leemu Lehtinen

European Magpie

Common Cuckoo

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Hooded Crow

Group: Crows and allies
Binomial: Pica pica
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Corvidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
From a distance looks jet black and gleaming white but closer up the black plumage radiates many different colours
Sometimes gather together in groups known as "Parliaments"
Sometimes eats the eggs of other birds