Thanks to its bright red breast, it's familiar throughout the year and especially at Christmas. Males and females look identical, young birds have no red breast and are spotted with golden brown. Robins sing nearly all year round and despite their cute appearance, they are aggressively territorial and are quick to drive away intruders. They will sing at night next to street lights.
Skylark Class - EYFS
The Skylark is a small brown bird, larger than a sparrow but smaller than a starling. It is streaky brown with a small crest – which can be raised when the bird is excited or alarmed – and a white-sided tail. The wings also have a white rear edge which is visible in flight. It's known for its display flight, vertically up in the air. Its recent and dramatic population declines make it a Red List species.
Starling Class - Class 1
Smaller than Blackbirds, Starlings have a short tail, pointed head and triangular wings. They look black at a distance. When seen closer, they are very glossy with a sheen of purples and greens. Their feathers are also flecked with white and this is especially noticeable in their winter plumage, which is more brown with many bright white spots. Starling flight is fast and direct and they walk and run confidently on the ground. Noisy and social, Starlings spend a lot of the year in flocks. Starlings are fantastic mimics and can make a huge variety of tweets, cheeps, clicks and burrs.
Lapwing Class - Class 1/2
Also known as the peewit in imitation of its display calls, its common name describes its wavering flight. Its black-and-white appearance and round-winged shape in flight make it distinctive, even without its splendid crest. This familiar Farmland, bird has suffered significant declines recently and is now a Red List species.
Redwing Class - Class 2
The Redwing is usually a winter visitor and is the UK's smallest true thrush. Look for the creamy strip above its eye and the orange-red flank patches. They roam across the UK's countryside, feeding in fields and hedgerows, rarely visiting gardens, except in the coldest weather when snow covers the fields. Only a few pairs nest in the UK. It is listed as a Schedule 1 species of The Wildlife and Countryside Act.
Swift Class - Class 3
The Swift is a medium-sized aerial bird, which is a superb flyer. Sleeping, eating, bathing and even mating on the wing (while flying), Swifts rarely touch the ground. They are also the fastest birds in level flight, with an impressive top speed of 69mph. Swifts are plain sooty brown, with a white throat, but in flight against the sky they appear black. They have curved wings and a forked tail. Swifts are summer visitors, breeding across the UK, but are most numerous in the south and east. Spending their winters in Africa, Swifts migrate 3,400 miles twice a year, stopping off to refuel in places like Portugal and France along the way.
Sanderling Class - Class 3/4
The Sanderling is a small, plump, energetic wading bird. It has a short and straight black bill and medium length black legs. It's pale grey on top and white underneath and has a black mark on its shoulder where the folded wing meets the body. It does not breed in the UK, but is a winter visitor and passage migrant in spring and autumn, journeying to and from its high Arctic breeding grounds.
Swallow Class - Class 4
Swallows are small birds with dark, glossy-blue backs, red throats, pale underparts and long tail streamers. They are extremely agile in flight and spend most of their time in the air. They are widespread breeding birds in the Northern Hemisphere, migrating south in winter. Swallow numbers in the UK have fluctuated over the last 30 years with strong regional variation in trends.
Kingfisher Class- Class 5
Kingfishers are small unmistakable bright blue and orange birds of slow-moving or still water. They fly rapidly, low over water, and hunt fish from riverside perches, occasionally hovering above the water's surface. They are vulnerable to hard winters and habitat degradation through pollution or unsympathetic management of watercourses. Kingfishers are Amber Listed because of their unfavourable conservation status in Europe. They are also listed as a Schedule 1 species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, offering them additional protection.
Egret Class - Class 5/6
The Great White Egret is a large, white heron. Great White Egrets can look similar to Little Egrets, but they are much larger - the same size as the familiar Grey Heron. Other identification features to look out for include black feet (not yellow), yellow beak (in juvenile and non-breeding plumage) and a different fishing technique, more like that of the Grey Heron.
Cormorant Class - Class 6
The Cormorant is a large, black waterbird whose size and colour make it very visible. With a reptilian neck, it has an almost prehistoric appearance. It is often seen standing with its wings held out to dry. Cormorants are supreme fishers which can bring them into conflict with fisherman and has seen them persecuted in the past. The UK holds internationally significant wintering numbers of cormorants. The Liver Bird is a mythical creature which is the symbol of the city of Liverpool. It is normally represented as a cormorant, and appears as such on the city's arms.