Garden Birds

Garden birds come in large varieties and knowing a bit more about them will make watching them that much more interesting. To identify garden birds in your area use a region specific garden bird guide. For example if you are living in Britain, use a British bird field guide.

The most common garden birds you will find are of the passerine group. Passerines are perching birds and song birds which have three toes pointing forward and one pointing back. Passerines that are commonly seen in gardens include sparrows, thrushes, mynahs, crows, wagtails, chaffinches, goldfinches, magpies, starlings, bulbuls, weavers and more. Weaver’s nests are often easily spotted hanging from the outer branches of trees. It is fascinating to watch the male hard at work building his nest. Thrushes can often be seen darting around under bushes in search of insects. Beware of magpies as they are known as the kleptomaniacs of the avian world. Details on specific garden bird species can be found in a good field guide.

The other group of garden birds are the non-passerines. These are non-perching birds. Non-passerines that may be spotted in the garden are pigeons, doves, woodpeckers, hoopoes, parrot species, swifts, owls, cuckoos, lapwings, various smaller birds of prey and so on. Obviously the size of your property will determine the types of garden birds that will be seen. Doves and pigeons will probably be the most likely species of non-passerine that you will see as they often frequent garden bird feeders.

Garden birds can be enticed to your garden by a ready supply of food, bearing in mind that different species have different preferences. Likewise, many bird feeders are available to attract various types of birds, and a bird bath is always a welcome addition to a garden. By providing such accessories you will open up a delightful opportunities to view and identify birds in your own garden.