British bird identifier
Your photo goes to Birdfact’s identification service and is kept with your result. How we use it
Heard it? Identify it by its song. Below: the birds in gardens this month, and the small brown birds people ask about most.
In gardens this month
The birds birdwatchers record most often at this time of year in each nation, with the ones arriving now marked. Most birds you see will be on this list; a bird that isn’t is worth a second look.
From GBIF records, 2019–2024. Birds near you, by town or postcode
Small brown birds
8 to checkThe question we’re asked most in Britain. Check the bill first, then the head and wings: one mark usually settles it.
DunnockBlue-grey head and breast, a streaked brown back and a fine, pointed bill.
Dunnock or House Sparrow?
House Sparrow (female)Plain buff and grey-brown, a streaked back, a thick seed-eater’s bill and a pale stripe behind the eye.
Dunnock or House Sparrow?
WrenTiny and round, rich brown with fine bars, the tail often cocked up.
Chaffinch (female)Soft grey-brown with two bold white wing bars and white sides to the tail.
Bullfinch or Chaffinch?
Blackbird (female)Dark brown all over, with a faintly mottled breast and a brownish-yellow bill.
Song ThrushA warm brown back and neat dark spots on a pale, buff-washed breast.
Mistle Thrush or Song Thrush?
Tree SparrowA chestnut cap and a black spot on a clean white cheek. Males and females look alike.
Meadow PipitSlim and streaky with a thin bill, usually in open country, moors and fields rather than gardens.
Britain’s commonest garden birds
Look and listen- Robin0:49
A thin, wistful warble, phrase after phrase with pauses between.
All year, autumn too, and under streetlights at night
See it life-size in 3D - Blackbird0:31
Slow, mellow, fluty phrases that tail away at the end.
February to July, best at dawn and dusk
See it life-size in 3D - Blue Tit0:53
Two or three high notes, then a trill: “tsee-tsee-chu-chu-chu”.
Late winter and spring
See it life-size in 3D - Great Tit0:32
A ringing two-note “teacher, teacher”, and many other calls.
Late winter and spring
See it life-size in 3D - House Sparrow0:41
Cheerful chirps, over and over, often from a busy group.
All year
See it life-size in 3D - Starling0:28
Clicks, whistles, wheezes and copies of other birds and sounds.
All year
See it life-size in 3D - Woodpigeon0:11
Five soft hoots, stressed on the second: “coo-COO-coo, coo-coo”.
Most of the year
See it life-size in 3D - Goldfinch0:34
Liquid, tinkling twitters, often from a group.
Much of the year
See it life-size in 3D - Chaffinch0:11
A falling run of notes that speeds up and ends in a flourish.
February to July
See it life-size in 3D - Dunnock0:18
A hurried, thin, scratchy warble with no clear pattern.
Most of the year
See it life-size in 3D - Wren0:19
Very loud for its size: a fast run of notes with a rattling trill in the middle.
All year
See it life-size in 3D - Long-tailed Tit0:22
Thin, high “see-see-see” calls and a rolling “tsirrup” as the flock moves through.
All year
See it life-size in 3D
Harder groups
Birdfact: Garden Bird ID, made for Britain and Ireland
Photo and song identification on your phone, who’s likely in your garden this week, and every bird life-size in 3D.
- Answers checked against the birds recorded in Britain and Ireland
- Listen: every bird named as it sings
- Your garden list, kept safe
Questions
6What’s the best British bird identifier?
The one that names the bird and shows you why. Birdfact’s identifier works from a photo, a song or a description, checks every answer against the birds recorded in Britain and Ireland at that time of year, and shows the look-alike side by side so you can be sure.
Is there a free UK bird identifier?
Yes. Your first identification needs no account. A free account gives you three photo or sound identifications and five descriptions a month.
How do I identify a small brown bird in my garden?
Look at the bill first: fine and pointed (Dunnock, Wren) or thick for seeds (sparrows, finches). Then the head (grey on a Dunnock, a chestnut cap on a Tree Sparrow) and any wing bars (two white ones on a female Chaffinch). Or photograph it and let the identifier tell you.
Which birds visit UK gardens in winter?
The residents (Robin, Blackbird, Blue and Great Tits, Dunnock, Wren, House Sparrow, Goldfinch) plus winter visitors. Redwings and Fieldfares arrive from Scandinavia in autumn, Blackcaps from central Europe winter in some gardens, and in some years Bramblings and Waxwings turn up. The list above shows what’s usual for your nation this week.
How do I identify a bird by its song in the UK?
Use the bird song identifier: let it listen or upload a recording. It checks each bird against the ones recorded in Britain and Ireland this month and plays you its song to compare.
Does it work for birds outside gardens?
Yes: waders, gulls, ducks and birds of prey as well as garden birds, anywhere in Britain and Ireland, and around the world.
Species occurrence data: eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0, doi:10.15468/aomfnb; aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. Download: doi:10.15468/dl.3ggph5