Thursday, 16 February 2012

Garden Birds

Wood Pigeon

Primary Image: 
Facts
Scientific Name: 
Columba palumbus
Length: 
41cm
Wingspan (mm): 
78cm
Weight: 
M/F 450g
Lifespan: 
3 years
Breeding Pairs: 
2,570,000-3,160,000 pairs
Information
Description: 
Grey with pinkish breast and white, green and purple ring around the neck. Tail has a black tip, and the wings have a white patch. Yellow eyes, and pink legs and bill.

Treecreeper

Primary Image: 
Facts
Scientific Name: 
Certhia familiaris
Length: 
12.5 cm
Wingspan (mm): 
17-21 cm
Weight: 
8-12 g
Lifespan: 
2yrs
Breeding Pairs: 
200,000
Information
Description: 
A small bird found creeping around trees looking for insects. Their pattern means they are very well camouflaged against the bark of a tree. They will often join flocks of tits and other small birds.

Starling

Primary Image: 
Facts
Scientific Name: 
Sturnus vulgaris
Length: 
22 cm
Wingspan (mm): 
37-42 cm
Weight: 
75-90 g
Lifespan: 
5yrs
Breeding Pairs: 
Over 1,000,000
Information
Description: 
At a distance the Starling can easily be mistaken for a small blackbird, however, it does have a number of features that enable it to be easily distinguished. The Starling has a very angular appearance with a short tail and slender body, triangular wings and a relatively long beak on a pointed head. Despite it's black appearance, on closer inspection it displays striking colours of iridescent purples and bottle-greens. As a very sociable bird, the Starling can often be found in flocks of many hu

Song Thrush

Primary Image: 
Facts
Scientific Name: 
Turdus philomelos
Length: 
23 cm
Wingspan (mm): 
33-36 cm
Weight: 
70-90 g
Breeding Pairs: 
1,000,000
Information
Description: 
The Song Thrush is smaller than both the Mistle Thrush or Blackbird. The sexes are similar with warm brown upper parts, pale buff underparts with dark speckles (which look like arrows pointing towards the head and are often arranged in lines) and a tinge of golden brown on the breast. The belly is almost white with fewer, smaller dark spots than the Mistle Thrush. They have relatively large eyes, as do Robins and other woodland ground feeding birds, and pale pink legs.

Siskin

Primary Image: 
Facts
Scientific Name: 
Carduelis spinus
Length: 
12 cm
Wingspan (mm): 
20-23 cm
Weight: 
12-18 g
Lifespan: 
2 yrs
Breeding Pairs: 
300,000
Information
Description: 
A small green and yellow finch with black markings and a distinctive forked tail.

Rook

Primary Image: 
Facts
Scientific Name: 
Corvus frugilegus
Length: 
45 cm
Wingspan (mm): 
80-90 cm
Weight: 
460-520 g
Lifespan: 
6 years
Breeding Pairs: 
850,000
Information
Description: 
About the same size as a carrion crow but is more untidy in it's appearance and has a thinner beak and a peaked head.

Redwing

Primary Image: 
Facts
Scientific Name: 
Turdus iliacus
Common Family: 
Thrushes
Scientific Family: 
Turdidae
Length: 
21cms
Wingspan (mm): 
34cm
Weight: 
M/F: 63g
Lifespan: 
2yrs
Information
Description: 
The Redwing is slightly smaller than a song or mistle thrush with a characteristic pale stripe above the eye and another, less pronounced one below the cheek. The spots on the undesides are very pronounced and there is a reddish/brown colour to the underwing, which gives the bird it's name.

Pied Wagtail

Primary Image: 
Facts
Scientific Name: 
Motacilla alba yarrellii
Length: 
18cm
Wingspan (mm): 
28cm
Weight: 
21g
Information
Description: 
The Pied Wagtail is a small black and white (pied) bird that many people mistake for a very young Magpie but it is much, much smaller than a Magpie and is similar in size to a Great Tit. It's most distinctive feature is it's constantly wagging tail, which never stops bobbing up and down.

Mistle Thrush

Primary Image: 
Facts
Scientific Name: 
Turdus viscivorus
Length: 
27 cm
Wingspan (mm): 
42-48 cm
Weight: 
110-140 g
Lifespan: 
3yrs
Breeding Pairs: 
250,000
Information
Description: 
The Mistle Thrush is the largest of Britain's thrushes, the direct flight of the mistle thrush distinguishes it from other thrushes, which are often more undulating. It is paler in colour than the song thrush and has bolder markings on it's breast and belly. The upperparts are grey-brown while the breast and flanks are a pale buff with bold black spots, which are scattered all over the underparts. The wing feathers have pale edges, which give the appearance of a pale patch on the wing when seen froma distance.

Long-tailed Tit

Primary Image: 
Facts
Scientific Name: 
Aegithalos caudatus
Length: 
14cm
Wingspan (mm): 
18cm
Weight: 
9g
Lifespan: 
2yrs
Information
Description: 
These little birds can usually be found in flocks of up to 20 birds. They are normally noticed by their call. The shoulders and underparts are a pale pinkish colour. The head has a white crown with black marks above the eyes and into the nape. Thay have red eye rings and a very small black beak. The blak and white tail is very long in comparison to it's body, over half it's length again. The legs are a black/brown colour. Juveniles lack the pink colouring and they have grey-black cheeks.
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