Cattle Egret

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The Cattle Egret is a small Heron that, as its name suggests, is usually found near grazing animals. Only a few decades ago, Cattle Egrets were rare visitors to the UK, until a large influx over the winter of 2007/2008 saw over 200 birds arrive, mostly in south-west England. Numbers have been increasing ever since.

Adult Cattle Egrets in non-breeding plumage are pure white with dark legs and sturdy yellow bills. They have a relatively short, thick neck and a hunched posture, looking stockier than a Little Egret. In breeding plumage, they have orange-buff plumes creating patches on their back, breast, and head. Their bills become more orange and they have reddish-orange legs. Youngsters start with black bills that turn yellow in the first year.

Cattle Egrets follow grazing animals and catch the insects and small vertebrates that are disturbed by them. They will even remove ticks and flies from cattle and eat them. The positioning of their eyes gives them binocular vision, which is great for catching insects, but, because of this, means they can't feed in water like other Herons.

They nest in colonies, usually near bodies of water and often with other wading birds. Each breeding male establishes a territory and puts on an elaborate courtship display, spreading his wings and prancing from foot to foot. Once paired, mum and dad stay together for the breeding season. The nest is a platform of sticks in a tree or a shrub. Dad collects sticks (sometimes stealing them from other nests) and mum builds the nest using poo to stick the twigs together before lining it with softer, less stinky material. She lays 2-4 eggs which hatch after 24 days. Both parents feed the young by regurgitating (sicking up) food. The youngsters fledge at about 5 weeks old and become independent after 8 weeks, when they leave the colony. They won't breed themselves for 2 years.

The first pair of Cattle Egrets nested in England in 2008 and since then Cattle Egret numbers in Britain have been rising. The oldest Cattle Egret recorded in America was 17 years old, though normally they live for 7 or 8 years.

Their Latin name is 'bubulcus ibis' where 'bubulcus' is Latin for herdsman and 'ibis' is Latin for another white wading bird, the sacred Ibis, but was applied to the Cattle Egret in error. The Swedish explorer Fredrik Hasselqvist was persuaded by his Egyptian guide that the Cattle Egret was, in fact, the sacred Ibis of the ancients when it wasn't. The English name is from it being an Egret and liking cattle. An older English name is the Buff-backed Heron from its breeding plumage.

Nightjar

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The Nightjar is another bird that, like the Woodcock, is highly camouflaged, looking like a piece of bark. It is a night-time ninja, being most active at dawn and dusk, silently snatching moths from the air. They are summer visitors, arriving in May from Africa and leaving in the autumn. Nightjars are usually seen on the edge of woodland by open ground.

They are cuckoo-like birds with long wings and tails with grey and brown markings which create a bark-like appearance. Nightjars have huge black eyes and short legs. They have barred tail feathers and white stripes on their chin and white spots on their wing tips. The female looks like the male but with less bold markings. When flying, they look hawk-like in silhouette and fly slowly with long glides and few wingbeats. Their call is an unusual and distinctive, long mechanical churring sound.

Nightjars eat a variety of flying insects, including moths, beetles and dragonflies. They hunt their prey in flight, an impressive feat in low light. They are highly adapted with their large eyes on either side of their head (giving them all-round vision) and sensitive bristles around their mouths (helping them snatch insects out of the air). Their falcon-like shape allows them to make rapid twists and turns.

Nightjars nest on the ground in the heathland by woods. The male establishes and defends a territory and attracts a female with his churring call and 'butterfly' display flight. Mum does not build a nest, but lays her two camouflaged eggs directly on the ground. The eggs hatch after 21 days and mum and dad feed the youngsters on insects until they fledge 17 days later. They become independent after a month. Nesting on the ground, Nightjar eggs and the youngsters are especially vulnerable to hedgehogs, weasels, foxes and birds like Magpies, Jays, and Crows. If mum is threatened by a predator, she will feign injury to draw them away from the nest. Adult Nightjars may fall prey to Hen Harriers, Goshawks, and Peregrines.

Habitat destruction led to a major decline in the Nightjar numbers after the Second World War. Better management of forestry plantations and heathlands has enabled a steady rise in numbers. They are Amber Listed, with about 5,000 Nightjars breeding in Britain. Their average life expectancy is 4 years, though the oldest recorded Nightjar lived for 12.

Their Latin name is 'caprimulgus europaeus' where 'caprimulgus' is Latin for 'goatsucker' or 'bug eater' as they are often seen hunting around livestock. The 'europaeus' means 'from Europe'. The English name is believed to come from the Nightjar's nocturnal habits and 'jarring' call. They are also sometimes called 'Nighthawks'.

Woodcock

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Woodcocks are chunky, highly camouflaged waders that are found mainly in woodland (as their name suggests) or scrubland. It is closely related to the Snipe and has been around for millions of years. It breeds throughout Britain but is incredibly hard to find because of its commando stealth. The best time to see them is at dawn or dusk in spring, when doing their display flight.

Woodcocks have stocky, brown and black bodies and long, slender bills. Their eyes are located on the sides of their heads, which gives them 360° vision so they can see the enemy coming. Their call is a frog-like croak.

They mainly feed at night or in the evenings, searching for invertebrates in soft ground with their long bills. Their favourite food are earthworms, but they will also eat insects, freshwater molluscs and plant seeds. By feeding at night, they can rest during the day. They become almost invisible with their camouflage plumage unless accidentally flushed, when they fly away, zigzagging on whirring wings.

Woodcocks breed in broadleaved deciduous woodland with dense undergrowth, sitting motionless on the nest. The male performs a courtship display flight called 'roding' at dusk between April and June. This slow, owl-like flight is not territorial, but actually to help him find a well-hidden female. The cup-shaped nest is built in the undergrowth and lined with dead leaves. Mum incubates the 1-2 eggs which hatch after 21 days. The youngsters leave the nest immediately and hide until they fledge 20 days later. If threatened, mum can fly off carrying the chicks in her claws or on her back.

There are about 70,000 Woodcocks in Britain, with numbers increasing five-fold in winter as birds arrive from Finland and Russia. The first full moon in November, when these large numbers arrive, is sometimes called a 'Woodcock moon'. The breeding population has been falling in recent years, perhaps because of the loss of habitat as conifer plantations become too mature for Woodcocks to find enough open areas to breed. They are Red Listed. The average Woodcock lives for 4 years.

Their Latin name is 'scolopax rusticola' where 'scolopax' is Latin for a Snipe or Woodcock and 'rusticola' is the Latin name of a game bird mentioned by Pliny, possibly a Grouse. The cocker spaniel dog is named after them, as the dogs were originally bred to hunt Woodcocks. A group of Woodcocks is called a 'fall' and their fine pin feathers were highly prized by artists as tiny brush tips.

Ring Ouzel

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The Ring Ouzel sounds like some sort of West Country scarecrow and it is indeed mainly black. 'Rock Ouzel', 'Tor Ouzel' or 'Moor Blackbird' are all old Devonshire names for the Ring Ouzel as it was once fairly common on Dartmoor. It is the Blackbird of mountain areas. A few breed in the Scottish Highlands and you are most likely to see them in spring, as they pass through from overwintering in southern Europe.

The Ring Ouzel is slightly smaller than a Blackbird and is predominantly black with a conspicuous white crescent across its breast. Females are browner and duller than males, and youngsters may lack the chest markings altogether. Their song is a desolate, repetitive, fluting "tri-rii, tri-rii, tri-rii".

Ring Ouzels are omnivores, eating invertebrates, particularly insects and earthworms, small vertebrates, and a wide range of fruit, including juniper berries. Most of their animal prey is caught on the ground.

The Ring Ouzel is a high-altitude bird, breeding in open mountain areas with a few trees or shrubs like heather, conifer, or juniper. Breeding begins in mid-April and continues through to mid-July. Mum builds a cup-shaped nest of leaves, grass and mud close to the ground, hidden in vegetation or a crevice. She incubates the 3-6 eggs, which hatch after 13 days. The youngsters fledge 14 days later and are dependent on mum and dad for a further 12 days. They will often have two broods. Mum and dad undergo a complete moult after breeding from late June to early September before starting their autumn migration.

About 7,000 pairs breed in Britain and the longest-lived Ring Ouzel ever, who was fondly titled 'super Ouzel', returned to its Aberdeenshire breeding place for ten consecutive years from 2008 to 2018. It reared over 50 chicks in the years it was monitored. Their average lifespan, though, is usually about two years.

Their Latin name is 'turdus torquatus' where 'turdus' means 'thrush' and 'torquatus' means 'adorned with a neck chain or collar' (from where we get the word 'torc' for a necklace). A perfect description. The English name goes back to the old Anglo-Saxon word 'osle' which translates as 'blackbird' and with its distinctive neck ring became Ring Ouzel.

White Stork

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The White Stork is the one that brings the babies in the fairy tales. It rarely nests in Britain though visits here in the summer. It is a long-distance migrant wintering in Africa or India and breeding in Europe. Storks avoid crossing the Mediterranean Sea and detour via Turkey in the east or the Straits of Gibraltar in the west because the air thermals they need for soaring do not form over water. Fossils show Storks have been around for over 6 million years!

The White Stork is mainly white with black on its wings, long red legs and a long, pointed red bill. Males, females and youngsters look identical except the young Storks have duller bills. They don't get their full adult plumage until their second summer. Like a Crane, Storks fly with legs and necks extended and use thermals to soar. On migration, thousands will travel together.

A carnivore, the White Stork eats a wide range of animals, including insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and small birds. It takes most of its food from the ground or from shallow water. They hunt mainly during the day, swallowing small prey whole, but killing and then breaking larger prey apart first. Like Gulls, they are partial to a nice landfill site.

White Storks breed in loose colonies on open farmland with access to marshy areas, building a large stick nest in trees or on buildings. The nests are reused year after year. The male arrives first and picks the nest site (the bigger the better) and attracts a female who helps him finish it. Courtship involves head-shaking crouching displays and the clattering of beaks. Mum lays 4 eggs which hatch after 34 days in the order they were laid, giving the first chick a competitive edge over the others. Both parents feed the chicks by disgorging (sicking up) food into the nest. They may kill weaker chicks if food is scarce. The youngsters can fly after 60 days and continue to be fed for a further week or so. They won't breed themselves for 4 years. Other birds, like Sparrows and Starlings, will often nest within empty Stork nests.

Changes in farming methods and industrialisation saw the White Stork decline and disappear from Britain and parts of Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Conservation and reintroduction programs across Europe have resulted in the White Stork resuming breeding in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Sweden. Reintroduction programmes are also being tried here. However, this is difficult as Storks are highly social birds and won't establish themselves in an area unless they find other Storks already there. The oldest known wild White Stork lived for 39 years.

Their Latin name is 'ciconia ciconia' where 'ciconia' is Latin for 'stork'. Storks are divided into three broad groups: the Wood Storks, the Giant Storks, and the 'typical' Storks (like the White Stork).

Crane

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The symbol of elegance, the Common Crane is a majestic bird. Although originating from distant lands, it is now quite happily living in Britain. It is the largest wading bird in Europe and, as astonishing as it may sound, Common Cranes are closely related to Rails, Coots and Moorhens!

The Common Crane has long legs and a long narrow neck. Its plumage is blueish-grey. Its head and the top of its neck are black and white and there is a patch of red on the top of its head. In flight, its neck and legs are outstretched, which makes it easy to differentiate from Herons. Their flight call is a loud, bugling "grous-grous".

Common Cranes like open areas that are cultivated where they can find large amounts of food, such as corn fields. Foraging is usually done in small groups. They are omnivores and eat a wide variety of food, from small mammals, insects, amphibians, and molluscs to plant shoots, seeds, berries and leaves.

They have an elaborate courtship display which consists of performing a kind of 'bow dance', with jumps, open wings and other loving signals. They pair for life even though they will perform the courtship display every year - to show how much they love each other. Cranes nest close to water in shallow marshes or wet heathland and become very territorial during the breeding season. When nesting, they 'paint' their bodies with mud or decaying vegetation to blend in with their surroundings. The same nest site may be used over several years. Mum lays 2 eggs in May which are incubated by both parents for a month. Once hatched, the youngsters are looked after for a further 70 days before they can fly and will stay with mum and dad until the end of their first winter. The youngsters don't breed themselves until they are at least 3 years old. Every two years, before migration, the adults undergo a complete moult, remaining flightless for six weeks, until their new feathers grow.

Cranes were once so common in Britain that 204 were roasted at a banquet for the Archbishop of York in 1465. They became extinct but are making a comeback after a re-introduction programme. There are about 70 breeding pairs in Britain and another 200 overwinter here. The small numbers make them Amber Listed. The average Common Crane can live for 26 years. Their main threats are collisions with power lines or wind turbines and the drying out of their breeding wetlands for farming.

Their Latin name is 'grus grus' where 'grus' is Latin for 'crane'. English place names with the prefix 'cran' are derived from Cranes. For example; the name of Cranfield in Bedfordshire derives from the Anglo-Saxon 'crane feld' - open country frequented by cranes. There are 15 species of cranes in the world.

Lesser Redpoll

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The Redpoll's full name is the Lesser Redpoll. Relatively recently (year 2000) it was classified as a separate species from the very similar Common Redpoll (also called the Mealy Redpoll) which, despite the name, is not common in Britain at all and only comes here to overwinter from northern Europe. Lesser Redpolls are most likely to be seen on garden bird feeders between January and April, often with Siskins, when food in the countryside becomes scarce.

Lesser Redpolls look a bit like tiny Linnets with the ketchup smudge on their fronts and with an additional dollop on their heads. The male is heavily streaked with a brown back and whitish underparts. He has a small red crown, a pink breast and a small black bib. There are two pale bars on the wings. The female is duller than the male and lacks the pink breast, but does have the same red crown. Their call is a harsh, metallic, staccato "chuch-uch-uch-uch" given in flight or from a perch.

Lesser Redpolls are sociable birds and often forage in flocks. They feed acrobatically in the trees like a Blue Tit, eating mainly birch and alder seeds, though they will munch a few insects in the summer.

They nest in woodlands between April and July. Pairs form in winter and several pairs will nest close together in a loose colony. Mum builds a cup-shaped nest in a tree or tall bush from twigs, grass, moss and leaves. She lays 4-7 eggs which hatch after 12 days. Dad keeps her well fed and both parents feed the young. The youngsters can fly 12 days later and become fully independent after 2 weeks. Mum and dad will often have two broods.

There are about 200,000 Lesser Redpolls in Britain, but recent declines mean they are Red Listed. Redpolls from the north move south in autumn and some southern ones will migrate across to the continent. Their average lifespan is 2 years.

The taxonomy of Redpolls is unsettled, with several different, very closely related forms of Redpolls being considered as anything from one to five species. The Latin name for the Lesser Redpoll is 'acanthis cabaret' where 'acanthis' is from the Ancient Greek 'akanthis' for a small unidentified bird and 'cabaret' from the French for a type of finch. Historically in English, Redpolls were known as 'Redpoles' where 'pole' meant forehead, which describes them much better.

The Mealy or Common Redpoll is similar to the Lesser Redpoll, but bigger and lighter with whiter underparts. The upperparts are more buff coloured, and the rump is paler with dark streaks.

Hawfinch

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For such a large distinctive finch, the Hawfinch is amazingly hard to see, often perched high in the trees hidden among the leaves. It is our largest finch, and can be found hiding in deciduous woods. They particularly like hornbeam, elm and cherry trees.

The Hawfinch is very colourful, with a big powerful triangular bill that has a black surround and is capable of cracking cherry stones. They are orangey-brown with a black eye surround, dark wings, brown head, grey nape, black bib, buff rump and pink feet. Yes, colourful! They have a striking white wing bar and white tip to their tail when flying. Females are a duller version of the male. Their high-pitched call is beyond the range of most people's hearing, though in flight they make a distinctive, metallic, explosive "tsicc!"

Hawfinches, with their massive bill, feed mainly on seeds taken from the ground or directly from the trees. It can easily crack open large seed shells. The inside of their bill is adapted for holding shells firmly and they can exert as much as 50kg of force when breaking into one! In summer, they also catch insects to feed their young.

Hawfinch pairs form in the winter flocks after an elaborate bowing courtship display, the pairs often staying together from one year to the next. They usually nest together in small colonies. Dad chooses a nest site and lays a few twigs badly in the fork of a tree. Mum then takes over and builds a proper cup-shaped nest from twigs and grasses. In May or June, she lays and incubates 4-5 eggs, which hatch after 14 days. Both mum and dad feed the young with chewed up seeds and insects. Hawfinches are unusual in that they keep their nests really clean, removing waste matter and giving it a good dusting. The youngsters can fly 14 days later and become fully independent after a further 30 days. They will breed themselves the following year. With the late start, there is usually only one brood.

There are about 1000 resident pairs of Hawfinches, with birds from northern Europe swelling numbers to 15,000 in winter. They are Red Listed in Britain as their numbers are so small. The oldest ringed Hawfinch lived to 12 years old.

Their Latin name is 'coccothraustes coccothraustes' where 'coccothraustes' is derived from the Greek 'kokkos' for a seed or kernel and 'thrauo' meaning to break or shatter. The English name 'Hawfinch' was first used by the ornithologist Francis Willughby in 1676. Haws are the red berries of the common hawthorn. A pretty poor observation as they eat cherries, not hawthorn seeds. Cherryfinch or Nutcracker would have been a better name.

Redstart

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The Redstart is slimmer than a Robin with a flicking red tail, hence its name ('start' is an old word for 'tail'). It is a summer migrant from central Africa and is often found in the towns or uplands of the north and west. The best place to look for Redstarts is feeding among the branches of woodland or heathland, as they rarely spend time on the ground.

Redstarts have a bright red rump, a red tail with a black centre, reddish underparts, a blue-grey back, a black face and a white forehead. The female is paler and browner but also has a red tail. The youngsters are mottled brown, similar to a young Robin. They sing from a prominent perch, starting with confidence but losing their way, like a Chaffinch that has run out of steam. It is a sweet "hooveet" song with a mechanical jingle at the end.

They catch insects like flies, beetles, ants and spiders by flying from a perch or hovering. They will also eat worms and fruit (pudding after all that protein). When perched, it has an upright stance like a Robin, while tail flicking and body bobbing.

Redstarts arrive in April and mum soon gets around to building a nest from grass or moss in a tree hole or nest box. She lays 5-7 light blue eggs, which hatch after 12 days. Both parents feed the youngsters, who can fly after 2 weeks and are fully independent 2 weeks later. Mum and dad will often have two broods. The whole family heads back to Africa in late August or early September.

Sadly, Redstart numbers declined in the 1970s, mainly from droughts in Africa, and they are Amber Listed. Numbers are slowly recovering and there are now about 100,000. Woodland nest box schemes, particularly in Wales, are helping their breeding success and recovery. The oldest ringed bird lived for 9 years, though their usual life span is shorter.

Their Latin name is 'phoenicurus phoenicurus' where 'phoenicurus' is from the Ancient Greek 'phoinix' for 'red' and 'ouros' for 'tailed'. They were originally classified as a member of the thrush family (a 'turdus'), but are now, to their relief, placed in the flycatcher family ('muscicapidae'). Another local name for the Redstart is the 'Fire Tail'.

Their closely related cousin, the Black Redstart, is something of a city slicker and can often be seen hunting insects among London's rooftops.

Cirl Bunting

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The shy Cirl Bunting likes to be warm and is localised to Devon and Cornwall. The village of Stokeinteignhead in Devon is so proud of them it has one as their mascot. Cirl Buntings are usually found amongst the vineyards of the Mediterranean and spend a lot of their time shuffling about on the ground or perched in bushes. They have only recently arrived here, colonising southern Britain from the 1800s.

The Cirl Bunting is smaller than a Yellowhammer but just as yellow with a flat-looking head, a striking black chin and eye stripe, a black crown, yellow underparts, streaked sides and an olive-coloured rump. There is a greenish band on the chest. The female and youngsters are paler, with a grey rump. Their song is a high-pitched, rattling trill of a single "ink", similar to the start of a Yellowhammer's song, and delivered from a song post.

Cirl Buntings feed mainly on seeds like chickweed and nettle and some insects like grasshoppers and crickets.

They form monogamous pairs in April and the female builds a bulky cup-shaped nest hidden in dense vegetation like bramble. It is made from grass and lined with softer material. Mum incubates the 3-4 eggs which hatch after 12 days. Both parents feed the young, who can fly after 11 days and become fully independent 12 days later. The youngsters can breed themselves by the following year. Mum and dad usually have two broods and sometimes even three.

Its small range and population size means the Cirl Bunting has been on the Red List since 1996. After 25 years of conservation effort, numbers have reached 1,000 pairs from just 118 in the 1980s. Most of their decline was due to loss of habitat when farming practices changed. Farmers are now encouraged to leave stubble overwinter and delay ploughing until the end of March. This allows the Cirl Buntings to feed over the winter on the spilt grain and on the seeds of broad-leaved arable weeds like fat hen and chickweed.

The Cirl Bunting's Latin name is 'emberiza cirlus' where 'emberzia' is from the Old German 'embritz' for a Bunting and 'cirlus' is from a local Italian name 'cirlo', for a type of bunting, from 'zirlare' meaning 'to chirp'. The English Cirl is also derived from 'cirlus'.