Our guide for the Big Garden Bird Watch

The Royal Society for the Protection of Bird’s (RSPB) Big Garden Bird Watch takes place each winter in the UK, in 2023 from 27 - 29 Jan. It’s simple to take part and it is open to everyone, all you have to do is spend one hour, anytime between 27 and 29 January, counting the birds in your garden or local park. 

Here’s a short guide below to help you identify some of the birds you might see on your balcony, in your garden or in your local park. You will also be able to see these bird specimens on display in World Museum's Treasure House Theatre Foyer, from World Museum’s historic vertebrate zoology collections.

 

Blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, are smaller than great tits and have a blue cap with a white face and blue-black stripe across their eyes. Males and females look the same with their yellow bellies, green backs and blue wings. 

 

Male and female great tits, Parus major, look the same as each other and are about the size of a robin but with black heads, white cheeks and a thick black line down the centre of their chests. They have yellow bellies, greenish black and blue-grey wings and tails. 

 

Wood Pigeons, Columba palumbus, are much larger and plumper than feral pigeons and are easily spotted by their white neck patch and white wing patches. They have a familiar cooing call and make a lot of noise with their wings when flying away. 

 

Starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, are smaller than blackbirds but more colourful – with petrol-stain-coloured plumage and straw-coloured tips. They have pointy heads and triangular shaped wings. 

Goldfinches, Carduelis carduelis, bring a flash of red and yellow to our gardens and parks. Their faces are bright red with bright yellow patches on the wings. Flocks of goldfinches are called ‘charms’. 

Find out more and register for the Big Garden Bird Watch.