Page 34 - World of Animals - Issue #33

A beginner’s guide to birdwatching

Birds of Britain Blue tit

From sighing swans to red-blooded An acrobatic sprite which
robins, from colourful kingfishers to may bring 1,000 caterpillars

cryptic wrens, we celebrate Britain’s a day to its brood
best-loved birds
Size: 12cm (5in)
Mute swan Appearance: Very small
with vivid blue cap, wings and
This stately bird makes tail, and yellow breast
When to see them: All
sighing sounds with its wings year round

to keep flocks together Where to see them:
Throughout the UK
How to see them: Hard to
keep away from garden feeders;

Size: 150cm (59in) it revels in sunflower hearts and

Appearance: A large, white, oŽen uses nest boxes.
aggressive bird with a long neck. The
young are brownish-grey.
When to see them: All year
round
Where to see them: Common
and widespread, although they are
scarcer in Scotland
How to see them: Hard to Blackbird
miss in ponds and rivers
A rooftop songster and lawn
forager that often nests
early in garden hedges

Size: 25cm (10in)
Appearance: Medium- -
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male is jet-black with a yellow
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bill; the female is brown
W h e n t o s e e t h e m : Al l
When to see them: All
year round
W h e r e t o s e e t h e m :
Where to see them:
Throughout the UK
In
How to see them: In
w i n t e r i t b e n e fi t s f r o m t h r o w n
winter it benefits from thrown
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o out fruit, and is drawn to berry- -
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bearing shrubs
Robin
Britain’s national bird is tame Puffi n
in the garden, but often A burrow-digging
violent towards rivals seabird that can hold
ten fish in its bill

Size: 14cm (6in)
Appearance: A small Size: 28cm (11in)
brown bird with an orange Appearance: Dumpy ‘sea-
breast and face parrot’ with colourful bill, black
When to see them: All feathers and white front
year round When to see them:
Where to see them: March-July
Throughout the UK Where to see them:

How to see them: Easy Found in colonies on cliffs and
to attract to a bird table with islands, especially in the north
mealworms or cheese of the UK
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