How to tell tricky bird species apart
Even our most familiar birds can be tricky to tell apart. These hints and tips will help you identify some of our most often confused species.
Birds to crow about
Most crows may not have the brightest plumage in the world, but when it comes to brain power, they’re some of the smartest animals on the planet.
So, you think you know your sparrows?
They’re often dismissed as ‘little brown jobs’ but they’re far from boring, with smart plumage and fascinating social lives.
The great tit confusion
This article is about tits. Yes, have a giggle, get it out your system, because we’re going to be using the word a lot...
Thrashing out different thrushes
There are dozens of species of thrush found all over the world, and six that can be seen in the UK.
Meet the ancestors
Get to know two very similar water birds. Two birds that betray an evolutionary link to dinosaurs more obviously than other birds are cormorants and shags.
How to tell your coo from a cuckoo
In the hullabaloo of spring birdsong, it’s surprisingly easy to mix up that distant cuck-coo with the cooing call of two much more common and familiar birds: the woodpigeon and the collared dove.
Swift, swallow or martin?
Swirling high in the blue skies, screeching wildly. Dark-winged creatures darting low over fields. Others chirruping softly as they flutter to and fro on the warm breeze. But which bird is it?
Terns and smaller gulls in summer
Visit the coast or an inland lake during the warmer months and you may well be rewarded by the sight of some of our more elegant seabirds.
Similar summer visitors
Our spring dawn chorus gets a tuneful boost each year from migrant warblers, but while their songs are unique, some of them look frustratingly similar.
