A delightful small, long-tailed and rather sprightly black and white bird. When not standing and frantically wagging its tail up and down it can be seen dashing about over lawns or car parks in search of food. It frequently calls when in its undulating flight and often gathers at dusk to form large roosts in city centres.
via Flickr http://flic.kr/p/iNMFy2
The oystercatcher is a large, stocky, black and white wading bird. It has a long, orange-red bill and reddish-pink legs. In flight, it shows a wide white wing-stripe, a black tail, and a white rump that extends as a ‘V’ between the wings. Because it eats cockles, the population is vulnerable if cockle beds are overexploited.
via Flickr http://flic.kr/p/iNNUJr
A delightfully elegant waterbird with ornate head plumes which led to its being hunted for its feathers, almost leading to its extermination from the UK. They dive to feed and also to escape, preferring this to flying. On land they are clumsy because their feet are placed so far back on their bodies. They have an elaborate courtship display in which they rise out of the water and shake their heads. Very young grebes often ride on their parents’ backs.
via Flickr http://flic.kr/p/iNMpkR
The largest UK tit – green and yellow with a striking glossy black head with white cheeks and a distinctive two-syllable song. It is a woodland bird which has readily adapted to man-made habitats to become a familiar garden visitor. It can be quite aggressive at a birdtable, fighting off smaller tits.
via Flickr http://flic.kr/p/iNNF7X
The green woodpecker is the largest of the three woodpeckers that breed in Britain. It has a heavy-looking body, short tail and a strong, long bill. It is green on its upperparts with a paler belly, bright yellow rump and red on the top of its head. The black ‘moustache’ has a red centre in males. They have an undulating flight and a loud, laughing call.
via Flickr http://flic.kr/p/iNRnis
Grey herons are unmistakeable: tall, with long legs, a long beak and grey, black and white feathering. They can stand with their neck stretched out, looking for food, or hunched down with their neck bent over their chest.
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Moorhens are blackish with a red and yellow beak and long, green legs. Seen closer-up, they have a dark brown back and wings and a more bluish-black belly, with white stripes on the flanks.
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The domestic Crested Duck is a duck breed descended from the Mallard. It has its appearance because it is heterozygous for a genetic mutation causing a deformity of the skull. As a result, when a pair of crested ducks breed, the young sort out in the usual 1-2-1 ratio:-
25% are homozygous for the normal allele of this gene and so have no crest and if bred together their offspring will never have a crest.
50% are heterozygous for this gene and hatch with a crest of varying sizes.
25% are homozygous for the crested allele of this gene and die from exposed brain without hatching, as it is lethal in homozygous form.
via Flickr http://flic.kr/p/iNMenp
Related to the shelduck, this pale brown and grey goose has distinctive dark brown eye-patches and contrasting white wing patches in flight. It was introduced as an ornamental wildfowl species and has escaped into the wild, now successfully breeding in a feral state.
via Flickr http://flic.kr/p/iNRcFG
Always heard more than seen at Brandon. The cuckoo is a dove-sized bird with blue grey upper parts. They are summer visitors and well-known brood parasites. Their recent population decline makes this a Red List species.
via Flickr http://flic.kr/p/iNNtx4
bruciestokes 