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Birbs · a free guide · 30 for now, more to come

British birds in your garden

What each bird looks like, where it nests, how its chicks grow up, what it eats and when to look for it. Thirty birds for now, and more to come. Tap the dots, flip between male, female and young, and put two to four birds side by side.

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Based on “British Birds in your Garden” by The Great British Channel (54:42 long, uploaded 23 May 2024), written in our own words. Numbers are checked against the BTO where it publishes them. We are not connected to the channel, the BTO or the RSPB. How we checked

welcome. mind the feeder. it is mine.

Jack says

Find a bird

Which bird is this?

Search for a bird by name, or by what you saw. Or answer the questions and skip what you did not notice. Birds that do not fit fade out, here and in the year chart. Every bird is a link to its own page.

Worried about a bird in your garden? The bird health guide covers the signs of illness, what to do and who to tell, and the new RSPB and BTO feeding advice.

Was it mostly dark or black?
Did it show a bright patch of colour?Red, orange, yellow, blue or green.
Was it bigger than a blackbird?A blackbird weighs about 101.8 g (BTO).

Where did you see it? Pick any.

More filters: size, food, nest place, months

Size

Food

Nest place

Staying or leaving

Months seen

A month filter hides the 7 birds with no months in the video.

All 30 birds

Compare

Put two to four birds side by side

Press + on a bird above, or Compare on a bird's own page. Numbers show who said them: the video, a source, or both.

No birds picked yet. Press the + on a bird in the finder above, or Compare on a bird's own page. You can compare up to four.

When to look

The year, bird by bird

Each bird has three thin lines. The first shows when the video says it is around. The second shows when BTO says the first eggs are laid, with a black bar at the average date. The third shows when the first chicks leave the nest, worked out from BTO's dates. A bird with no line has no figure. The dashed line is today.

  • Around, from the video
  • Arrives, leaves or moves
  • Visits, or another note
  • Away
  • First eggs, BTO
  • First chicks leave, worked out
  • Robin

    Robin: around Jan to Dec; Christmas-card season, Dec; first eggs laid 19 Mar to 10 Jun, average 18 Apr (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 14 Apr to 12 Jul (worked out from BTO).

  • Carrion crow

    Carrion crow: first eggs laid 14 Mar to 29 Apr, average 7 Apr (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 30 Apr to 17 Jun (worked out from BTO).

  • Jackdaw

    Jackdaw: around Jan to Dec; first eggs laid 12 Mar to 18 Apr, average 30 Mar (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 2 May to 9 Jun (worked out from BTO).

  • Rook

    Rook: around Jan to Dec; autumn flying displays, Sep to Nov.

  • Bullfinch

    Bullfinch: around Jan to Dec; first eggs laid 29 Apr to 21 Jul, average 17 May (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 28 May to 22 Aug (worked out from BTO).

  • Greenfinch

    Greenfinch: around Jan to Dec; bird tables, winter and spring, Dec to May; flocks head for the countryside, Aug to Nov; first eggs laid 5 Apr to 5 Jul, average 10 May (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 2 May to 4 Aug (worked out from BTO).

  • Siskin

    Siskin: around Jan to Dec.

  • Chaffinch

    Chaffinch: around Jan to Dec; gardens busy, spring and summer, Mar to Aug; flocks head for the countryside, Sep to Nov; winter migrants swell numbers, Dec to Feb; first eggs laid 12 Apr to 30 May, average 30 Apr (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 7 May to 27 Jun (worked out from BTO).

  • Goldfinch

    Goldfinch: around Jan to Dec; many go to France or Spain, Dec to Feb; first eggs laid 26 Apr to 19 Jul, average 25 May (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 22 May to 18 Aug (worked out from BTO).

  • House sparrow

    House sparrow: around Jan to Dec; first eggs laid 27 Mar to 11 Jul, average 14 May (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 22 Apr to 12 Aug (worked out from BTO).

  • Mistle thrush

    Mistle thrush: around Jan to Dec; nesting can start, Feb; berry crop: family groups gather, Sep to Nov; first eggs laid 17 Mar to 22 May, average 7 Apr (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 14 Apr to 23 Jun (worked out from BTO).

  • Starling

    Starling: around Jan to Dec; winter visitors from northern Europe, Nov to Feb; first eggs laid 6 Apr to 30 May, average 19 Apr (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 7 May to 5 Jul (worked out from BTO).

  • Willow warbler

    Willow warbler: around Mar to Oct; first back, as early as mid-March, Mar; nesting begins by the end of April, Apr; leaving as late as mid-October, Oct; first eggs laid 2 May to 11 Jun, average 12 May (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 27 May to 11 Jul (worked out from BTO).

  • Blue tit

    Blue tit: around Jan to Dec; noisy young parties leave the nest, Jun to Aug; small roving bands in winter, Dec to Feb; first eggs laid 12 Apr to 11 May, average 26 Apr (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 13 May to 15 Jun (worked out from BTO).

  • Marsh tit

    Marsh tit: around Jan to Dec; first eggs laid 9 Apr to 6 May, average 20 Apr (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 11 May to 12 Jun (worked out from BTO).

  • Great tit

    Great tit: gardens matter most in winter, Dec to Feb; first eggs laid 10 Apr to 17 May, average 26 Apr (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 11 May to 21 Jun (worked out from BTO).

  • Coal tit

    Coal tit: no months given.

  • Long-tailed tit

    Long-tailed tit: around Jan to Dec; regular winter garden visitor, Dec to Feb; back in gardens with their young, Jun to Jul; first eggs laid 24 Mar to 29 Apr, average 8 Apr (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 24 Apr to 3 Jun (worked out from BTO).

  • Pied wagtail

    Pied wagtail: around Jan to Dec; winter roosts; some leave for southern Europe, Nov to Feb; first eggs laid 15 Apr to 1 Jul, average 17 May (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 12 May to 29 Jul (worked out from BTO).

  • House martin

    House martin: around Mar to Oct; back each spring, Mar to May; flocks overhead in early autumn, Sep to Oct.

  • Swallow

    Swallow: around Mar to Oct; first arrivals, Mar; late-season nestlings sometimes left behind, Oct; first eggs laid 9 May to 31 Jul, average 5 Jun (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 14 Jun to 9 Sep (worked out from BTO).

  • Magpie

    Magpie: first eggs laid 8 Apr to 4 May, average 22 Apr (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 24 May to 24 Jun (worked out from BTO).

  • Jay

    Jay: around Jan to Dec; first eggs laid 1 Mar to 30 Apr, average 31 Mar (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 8 Apr to 9 Jun (worked out from BTO).

  • Song thrush

    Song thrush: around Jan to Dec; winter visitors from northern Europe, Oct to Nov; first eggs laid 21 Mar to 21 Jun, average 21 Apr (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 18 Apr to 20 Jul (worked out from BTO).

  • Blackbird

    Blackbird: around Jan to Dec; moulting out of sight, mid-August to late September, Aug to Sep; winter visitors swell numbers, Dec to Feb; first eggs laid 22 Mar to 14 Jun, average 22 Apr (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 16 Apr to 14 Jul (worked out from BTO).

  • Collared dove

    Collared dove: breeds almost any time, February to November, Feb to Nov.

  • Wren

    Wren: first eggs laid 14 Apr to 21 Jun, average 2 May (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 14 May to 27 Jul (worked out from BTO).

  • Great spotted woodpecker

    Great spotted woodpecker: around Jan to Dec; easier to see when trees are bare, Dec to Feb; first eggs laid 16 Apr to 22 May, average 4 May (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 20 May to 1 Jul (worked out from BTO).

  • Green woodpecker

    Green woodpecker: no months given.

  • Pheasant

    Pheasant: around Jan to Dec; early spring: males fight, loud crowing, Mar to Apr.

i checked all of it. numbers especially.

Jack says

Sources and checks

Where every fact came from

509 claims sit behind this guide. 389 are said in the video and 120 only a source says (weights, first-egg dates, and numbers the video leaves out). Each has a grade, and the site's own code works the grade out from the numbers. Nobody types it in.

  • checked141The video and a source agree. A number counts as checked only when it sits inside BTO's typical range.
  • video only216Said in the video, not checked against anything. Treat it as the narrator's word.
  • differs32The video and the source disagree. Both values are shown, and the guide says which one it uses.
  • source only120Not in the video. Added from a page this guide links, such as a weight or a first-egg date.

How a number is graded

  • BTO's BirdFacts pages give a typical range for broods, clutch, incubation and nest time, taken from nest records. All 30 pages were read on 2026-10-05.
  • A video number is checked when it sits wholly inside BTO's typical range. It differs when it does not, even if BTO has seen it once. An exceptional brood is not typical.
  • "Up to N" is checked when N is at least BTO's typical top and no higher than the most BTO records. "Within N days" is checked when BTO's typical range ends by N. When the narrator says "about", 10 per cent either side is allowed.
  • Where the video counts young and BTO counts eggs, the two are not compared.
  • "Chicks leave" on a year strip is worked out: BTO's first-egg dates plus its typical incubation and nest times. It is a derived figure, not a quotation.

Where the video and the sources disagree (32)

  • Robin at 05:49: the video says 13 days. BTO BirdFacts says 14–16 days (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Carrion crow at 07:25: the video says 3–5 eggs. BTO BirdFacts says 3–4 eggs (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Carrion crow at 07:30: the video says about 35 days. BTO BirdFacts says 28.5–29.5 days (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Jackdaw at 08:52: the video says 3–6 eggs. BTO BirdFacts says 4–5 eggs (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Jackdaw at 08:52: the video says 18 days. BTO BirdFacts says 20 days (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Rook at 10:19: the video says 3–6 eggs. BTO BirdFacts says 3–4 eggs (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Greenfinch at 12:58: the video says 13 days. BTO BirdFacts says 14 days (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Siskin at 14:54: the video says 3–5 eggs. BTO BirdFacts says 4–5 eggs (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Chaffinch at 16:05: the video says 3–5 eggs. BTO BirdFacts says 4–5 eggs (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Chaffinch at 16:10: the video says 14 days. BTO BirdFacts says 12–13 days (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • House sparrow at 19:23: the video says 14 days. BTO BirdFacts says 14.5–17 days (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Blue tit at 25:14: the video says 15 days. BTO BirdFacts says 13–14 days (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Marsh tit at 26:42: the video says up to 8 eggs. BTO BirdFacts says 7–9 eggs (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Marsh tit at 26:49: the video says about 14 days. BTO BirdFacts says 18–21 days (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Great tit at 28:32: the video says 6–8 eggs. BTO BirdFacts says 7–9 eggs (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Long-tailed tit at 31:25: the video says thousands of feathers. BTO BirdFacts says lined with up to 1,500 feathers. The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Pied wagtail at 32:38: the video says many migrate to the Mediterranean. BTO BirdFacts says mostly sedentary; ringing data show some winter movements into southern Europe. The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Pied wagtail at 32:59: the video says 14 days. BTO BirdFacts says 13 days (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • House martin at 33:16: the video says Africa, India and South East Asia. BTO BirdFacts says migrate to Africa; the exact non-breeding range of British birds is still not known. The guide uses the source. See the row
  • House martin at 34:08: the video says up to 3 broods. BTO BirdFacts says 2 broods (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Swallow at 35:49: the video says 4–6 eggs. BTO BirdFacts says 4–5 eggs (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Swallow at 35:51: the video says about 14 days. BTO BirdFacts says 16–18 days (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Swallow at 35:57: the video says up to 3 broods. BTO BirdFacts says 2 broods (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Magpie at 37:11: the video says 4–7 eggs. BTO BirdFacts says 5–6 eggs (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Magpie at 37:14: the video says 21 days. BTO BirdFacts says 20 days (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Jay at 39:03: the video says 5–6 eggs. BTO BirdFacts says 4–5 eggs (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Song thrush at 40:22: the video says 3–6 eggs. BTO BirdFacts says 4 eggs (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Collared dove at 43:29: the video says up to 5 broods. BTO BirdFacts says 1–2 broods (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Collared dove at 43:32: the video says almost any time between February and November. BTO BirdFacts says given favourable weather, may nest in any month of the year. The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Collared dove at 43:35: the video says about 14 days. BTO BirdFacts says 16–17 days (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Pheasant at 49:26: the video says up to 20 eggs. BTO BirdFacts says 10–14 eggs (BTO typical). The guide uses the source. See the row
  • Pheasant at 48:40: the video says thousands reared artificially. BTO BirdFacts says most UK pheasants are reared for shooting, and tens of millions are released each year. The guide uses the source. See the row

Every claim, bird by bird

Each bird's page ends with a table of every claim about it: our sentence, the moment in the video, the grade, and the source with the day it was read.

This guide is written in our own words after the video “British Birds in your Garden” by The Great British Channel, 54:42 long, uploaded 2024-05-23. Nothing is copied from it beyond short, timestamped pointers to where it says something. Every “checked” row links the page it was checked against. BTO is the British Trust for Ornithology's BirdFacts pages, and RSPB is the RSPB bird guide. We are not connected to any of them.