Back

A who's who of garden birds

Learn to recognise and identify some of our most common garden visitors and how you can support them, along with fun facts that will have you seeing your favourite birds in a whole new light

In the UK, we love our garden birds. It’s estimated that Britain is home to 4.7 million nest boxes, and that 48% of us put out food for the wild birds that visit our gardens.

Appreciation for our feathered visitors has potential to help them in their time of need. Almost half of UK bird species are in decline, and bird numbers are down by 73 million – almost a third – since 1970. Data from community surveys is key to their conservation.

However, watching birds also brings documented benefits for our own wellbeing, too – including reducing anxiety and giving a sense of being connected to nature. It’s even been scientifically recommended for nursing homes on account of its health benefits.

Taking part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, which runs every year in late January, is a great way to take an hour for wellbeing during what can be a less nature-connected time of year, while contributing vital data to help inform the conservation of our garden birds.

  • The 2025 Big Garden Birdwatch is taking place on 24-26 January. Take part > 

Here are some of the most common birds to look out for in your garden.


Blue tit

Distinctive for their blue and white head, blue and green on the back and a yellow underbelly, blue tit numbers have enjoyed a boom in recent years thanks to gardeners providing nest boxes and feed for them. Blue tits can form large family groups and you’ll often see many blue tits happily crowding a feeder or a bird bath together. 

With a diet of insects, caterpillars, seeds and nuts, when not on the peanut feeder, blue tits can often be spotted picking aphids and caterpillars off trees, helping to maintain the healthy plants that come with a balanced garden ecosystem. A nestbox with a 25mm entrance hole will be perfect for these small birds.
Did you know?

Blue tits usually stay close to where they hatched throughout their life, so it’s likely that you have the same blue tit families breeding in your garden year after year.

Great tit

Larger than a blue tit and with a black and white head rather than blue and white, great tits sport a distinctive yellow waistcoat and a longer tail than their blue cousins. Great tits often hang out with groups of blue tits but will dominate at the bird table.

Caterpillars aren’t such a favourite menu item but they’re still into insects, seeds and nuts, and can be readily attracted with a peanut feeder. If you’d like to provide housing for great tits in your garden, try a nestbox with a 28mm or 32mm hole.
Did you know?

A study of great tits has been running at Wytham Woods near Oxford since 1947. This is the longest continuous study of an individually tagged animal population anywhere in the world, and is helping scientists understand how populations change in response to the environment and to changing climates.

Blackbird

A key player in the dawn and dusk choruses, blackbirds can often be heard proclaiming their rich, fruity song from a lofty perch. Male blackbirds are jet-black with a contrasting yellow beak and ring around the eye, whilst females are dark brown and juveniles a mottled brown.

Feeding mainly on worms and caterpillars, blackbirds are often seen hopping about on lawns, occasionally tilting their head towards the ground to listen for worms beneath the surface. You can encourage blackbirds by offering fruit or mealworms on a ground feeding tray.

Sadly, blackbirds are under threat from a new mosquito-borne virus, which has caused a rapid population decline. You can help by trying to avoid stagnant water in your garden (water in bird baths should be changed at least every few days), and by taking part in the British Trust for Ornithology’s blackbird survey from May.
Did you know?

Blackbirds aren’t always black – sometimes you’ll see a blackbird with patches of white feathers. These are called leucistic blackbirds. Though we don’t know much about leucism, it’s believed to be caused by a genetic mutation and is especially common in male and urban blackbirds. Leucism has also been seen in crows, jackdaws and house sparrows.

Goldfinch

A stunningly colourful bird, the goldfinch is unmistakable with its bright red face and golden yellow wing bar. Though the goldfinch diet is mainly made up of the seeds of thistles, teasels and sunflowers, they’ll often venture high into trees in summer foraging for insects; their distinctive chattering ‘tickle-it tickle-it’ call betraying their presence. Goldfinches are increasingly common visitors to bird feeders, where they are particularly partial to niger seed.
Did you know?

Goldfinches usually nest on the outermost twigs at the ends of branches, and particularly like to nest in fruit trees. In autumn they often migrate to the Mediterranean for winter, in large flocks of up to a thousand birds.

House sparrow

As the name suggests, these classic small brown birds love to breed on and around houses, such as under the eaves. House sparrows are highly sociable birds, often nesting in colonies and travelling in flocks. They are also bold and opportunistic, living closely alongside humans and often flitting down to scavenge crumbs from café seating areas – often while there are still people at the table.

However, house sparrows have undergone alarming declines in recent decades, particularly in urban areas. According to RSPB data, house sparrow populations in London fell by nearly two thirds just between 1994 and 2004. You can encourage house sparrows by providing nest boxes (they enjoy living in groups in a terraced nest box or sparrow flats) and mealworms – a high-protein insect diet gives chicks the best chance.

Did you know?

House sparrows are so adaptable that they can make a home almost anywhere. They have been found breeding at over 4000m above sea level in the Himalayas, and 600m underground in a Doncaster coal mine. They love to nest in buildings, not just in the eaves of houses but also in railway stations, factories and barns, and often re-use old nests made by house martins.

Robin

The quintessential gardeners’ friend, the robin is unmistakeable with its bright red breast, contrasting with a brown back and head. Robins are one of the few birds that continue to sing all year round, their uplifting melodies brightening even the darkest and coldest months of winter, which may be part of the reason why robins are the UK’s favourite bird.

Robins are fiercely territorial and very bold, so will often approach humans – picking up worms after a gardener or even taking food from a hand – but except when paired for the breeding season, it will usually be one robin at a time owing to strong rivalry between individuals. A robin’s diet is made up of worms, seeds, fruits, insects and other invertebrates, but if you wish to provide food, they are particularly partial to mealworms. Robins also prefer an open-fronted nest box.
Did you know?

Many ecologists believe that the boldness and tendency of robins to tag along with gardeners as they work is thought to have evolved from an ancestral behaviour in which robins followed wild boar and aurochs, a now-extinct wild cattle ancestor, that once shared their woodland habitat. Close promixity to these animals allowed robins to take advantage of the invertebrates brought to the surface as the herbivores disturbed the ground while foraging. It seems that while gardening, we are unwittingly mimicking a wild boar.


Other common garden birds to look out for

Long-tailed tit
Coal tit
Chaffinch
Collared dove
Starling
Green woodpecker
Wren
Wood pigeon
Song thrush
Find out more about how to help your feathered visitors with our five ways to help birds in every season.

About the author – Olivia Drake

With a background in biology, Olivia is passionate about biodiversity, sustainable horticulture and the role gardening can play in conservation. She is trained as a botanical horticulturist and previously worked in public gardens around the UK and abroad.

Save to My scrapbook

You might also like

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.