Marsh Tit
Marsh Tit Poecile palustris
The Marsh Tit, Poecile palustris, is a small and neat woodland bird belonging to the family Paridae, and one of a pair of near-identical species – the other being the Willow Tit – that have long confounded birdwatchers. Adults have a glossy black cap, white cheeks, brown upperparts, and pale underparts, distinguished from the Willow Tit most reliably by call – a distinctive, explosive ‘pitchoo’ – and by the absence of a pale wing panel.
Little Tern
Little Tern Sterna albifrons
Suffolk Priority Species
Linnet
Linnet Carduelis cannabina
The Linnet, Linaria cannabina, is a small and lively finch belonging to the family Fringillidae, and a characteristic bird of open scrubby habitats, farmland, and heathland across Britain. Breeding males are attractive birds, with chestnut-brown upperparts, a grey head, and vivid crimson forehead and breast – the latter fading to a more subdued tone outside the breeding season. Females and winter birds are streaked brown throughout.
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos minor
The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Dryobates minor, is Britain’s smallest and most elusive woodpecker, belonging to the family Picidae. No larger than a Great Tit, adults are barred black and white above, with males distinguished by a red crown. It favours mature deciduous woodland, particularly stands of alder, willow, and oak with an abundance of dead and decaying wood, foraging high in the canopy and on slender outer branches where larger woodpeckers cannot reach.
House Sparrow
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
The House Sparrow, Passer domesticus, is a small, sociable, and characterful bird belonging to the family Passeridae, and arguably the most familiar wild bird in Britain. Males are attractively marked with chestnut and grey plumage, a black bib, and a grey crown, while females are a more subdued streaked brown. A commensal species that has lived in close association with human habitation for millennia, it nests in gaps and cavities in buildings and forages for seeds, scraps, and invertebrates in its immediate surroundings.
Lesser Redpoll
Lesser Redpoll Carduelis cabaret
The Lesser Redpoll, Acanthis cabaret, is a small and lively finch belonging to the family Fringillidae, and the smallest of the redpolls regularly occurring in Britain. Adults are streaked brown above with a distinctive crimson forehead patch and, in breeding males, a delicate rose-pink flush on the breast. An agile feeder, it is most often encountered in flocks working through birch and alder trees with acrobatic ease, extracting small seeds with its neat, pointed bill.
Herring Gull
Herring Gull Larus argentatus ssp. argenteus
The Herring Gull, Larus argentatus, is a large and familiar gull belonging to the family Laridae, and for many people the quintessential sound and sight of the British seaside. Adults are silver-grey above with white underparts, black wingtips spotted with white, a heavy yellow bill with a distinctive red spot, and pale pink legs. Once primarily a coastal and cliff-nesting species, it has adapted extensively to urban environments, nesting on rooftops and exploiting human food waste.
Dunnock
Dunnock (Hedge Accentor) Prunella modularis
The Dunnock, Prunella modularis, is a small, quietly charming bird belonging to the family Prunellidae, and a familiar resident of gardens, hedgerows, scrub, and woodland edge throughout Britain. Superficially resembling a House Sparrow in its streaked brown plumage, it is readily distinguished by its slim bill, grey face and breast, and the characteristic shuffling, mouse-like gait with which it forages unobtrusively along the ground.
Grey Partridge
Grey Partridge Perdix perdix
The Grey Partridge, Perdix perdix, is a compact, beautifully marked gamebird belonging to the family Phasianidae, and one of Britain’s most severely declining farmland birds. Adults are richly patterned in grey, chestnut, and buff, with a distinctive orange-brown face and, in males, a striking dark horseshoe marking on the belly.
Curlew
Curlew Numenius arquata
The Curlew, Numenius arquata, is Britain’s largest wading bird, belonging to the family Scolopacidae, and one of the most evocative birds of the upland and coastal landscape. Adults are streaked brown with a long, elegantly downcurved bill – among the most distinctive silhouettes of any British bird – used to probe deeply into soft substrates for invertebrates, particularly worms and crustaceans. The far-carrying, bubbling call is widely regarded as one of the most haunting and beautiful sounds in nature.