Goldcrest

Scientific Name: Regulus regulus

Population Estimate: Unknown, but Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Partial migrant, favoring wooded habitats throughout Europe and discontinuously in Asia through to Japan.

Field Notes: Small, flitty, olive-drab bird with pin beak. Darker wings with two white wing bars. Pale area around eyes. Golden crest that is often difficult to see.

Personal Notes: Seen at Kew Royal Botanical Gardens, London.

Hooded Crow

Scientific Name: Corvus Cornix

Population Estimate: Unknown, but Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: In Britain, this crow mainly occurs in north and western Scotland, it also occurs in Ireland and on the Isle of Man. Elsewhere it is widespread throughout central and northern Europe between the Arctic in the north to the Mediterranean in the south.

Field Notes: The Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix) (sometimes called Hoodiecrow) is a Eurasian bird species in the crow genus. It is an ashy grey bird with black head, throat, wings, tail and thigh feathers, as well as a black bill, eyes and feet. Like other corvids it is an omnivorous and opportunistic forager and feeder.

Personal Notes: Some authors consider this bird conspecific with Carrion Crow.

Western Jackdaw

Scientific Name: Coloeus Monedula

Population Estimate: 21.1 - 90B

Range / Habitat: Widely distributed throughout Britain, but scarcer in upland areas. The jackdaw is also widespread throughout western Europe. Scandinavian populations migrate to England, Scotland and the Low Countries for the winter.

Field Notes: Medium-sized crow with grey nape and pale yellow eye. Hooded Crow with black eye, all black hood and more grey on back.

Personal Notes: Richard captured the top photo on the Cechy Most across the Vltava River in Prague.

Eurasian Magpie

Scientific Name: Pica Pica

Population Estimate: 22.5 - 57B (including Black-Billed Magpie in the US)

Range / Habitat: Resident in open areas, including artificial habitats, throughout most of Europe, Asia, and northwest Africa.

Field Notes: Large, conspicuous pied corvid with brilliant sheen to the back and long tail. Unmistakable in range.

Personal Notes: 

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Scientific Name: Dendrocopos Major

Population Estimate: 73.5 - 216B

Range / Habitat: Resident in temperate forest throughout Europe and northern Asia.

Field Notes: Medium-sized black and white woodpecker with a black line which zigzags from the shoulder halfway across the breast, then back to the nape; a black stripe, extending from the bill, runs below the eye to meet this latter part of the zigzag line. Large white shoulder patch, barred flight feathers. Undertail coverts red. Males have a crimson spot on the nape, which is absent in females and juvenile birds. Syrian Woodpecker similar but less well-developed zigzag stripe on the neck. White-winged Woodpecker also similar but with far more extensive white wing patch.

Personal Notes: A welcome sound and sight after nearly a year in New Zealand without woodpeckers.

Great Tit

Scientific Name: Parus major

Population Estimate: 300M - 1.1B

Range / Habitat: Resident in wooded areas throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central and Northern Asia, and parts of North Africa.

Field Notes: Hefty tit, with a black head and neck, prominent white cheeks, olive upperparts and yellow underparts.

Personal Notes: Some authors consider this to be a subspecies.

Eurasian Blue Tit

Scientific Name: Cyanistes caeruleus

Population Estimate: 20 - 44M pairs estimated in Europe

Range / Habitat: Temperate forest or scrubland in continental Europe, the Mediterranean, and in parts of the Middle East and North Africa.

Field Notes: Small, brightly colored songbird with yellow breast, blue cap and wings. Thin black eye stripe.

Personal Notes: Some sources consider this to be a subspecies.

Eurasian Collared-dove

Scientific Name: Streptopelia decaocto

Population Estimate: 14-33M, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Widespread in artificial and scrubland habitats throughout much of Europe and Asia. Introduced to the Americas via the Bahamas in the 1970's. 

Field Notes: Medium-sized dove, overall pink to grey to brown. Distinctive black half-collar on back on neck. Song a three-part coo.

Personal Notes: More common than pigeons in Cancun, Mexico.

Eurasian Jay

Scientific Name: Garrulus glandarius

Population Estimate: 40M - 150M

Range / Habitat: Resident in temperate forest throughout most of Europe, northwest Africa to the Indian Subcontinent and further to the eastern seaboard of Asia and down into south-east Asia.

Field Notes: Large, mostly brown passerine with iridescent blue flash in wings and dark tail.

Personal Notes: Seen at Kew Royal Botanical Gardens in London.

Common Black-headed Gull

Scientific Name: Larus ridibundus

Population Estimate: 4.8M - 8.9M, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Breeds on inland wetlands and marine habitats of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory, wintering further south in costal areas.

Field Notes: Delicate hooded gull with black-tipped red bill and red legs. Light grey mantle and black-tipped primaries. In summer plumage, head is chocolate brown. In winter plumage, head is all white except for black spot behind the eyes. Distinguished from Mediterranean Gull by black in wings.

Personal Notes: We finally saw this gull in bleeding plumage in Spain after winter sightings in Venice and Prague. Seen again in breeding plumage in Iceland.

Eurasian Coot

Scientific Name: Fulica atra

Population Estimate: 9M - 10M

Range / Habitat: The Eurasian Coot ranges from Eurasia to Indonesia, New Guinea and Australia. Birds have also recently transported themselves to New Zealand, and the species is quickly becoming established.

Field Notes: The Eurasian Coot is recognised by its snowy white bill and forehead shield. The remainder of the bird is dark sooty grey, except for its bright red eye. Immature birds are generally paler than adults with a white wash on the throat. Nestlings are downy, black with fine yellow tips. The head is orange-red and the bill is red with a cream-white tip.

Personal Notes:

Little Grebe

Scientific Name: Tachybaptus ruficollis

Population Estimate: Unclear, estimates at 610K to 3.5M

Range / Habitat: Tachybaptus ruficollis is a widespread breeder across much of western and central Europe,

Field Notes: The smallest of the grebes, Little Grebes have a very dumpy body, a short neck, tiny straight bill and no ornamental head feathers giving a rounded shape to the head. They swim buoyantly with feathers often fluffed out at rear giving a power- puff effect. In breeding adults the throat and cheeks are a bright chestnut, the fleshy gap patch takes on a pale color and the body becomes a rich dark brown above and paler below. Out of the breeding season birds are less striking with the neck taking on a buff-brown color and the body becoming dull brown above and paler below.

Personal Notes:

Mute Swan

Scientific Name: Cygnus olor

Population Estimate: 600K

Range / Habitat: Found on inland wetlands in temperate areas of Europe across western Asia, as far east as the Russian Maritimes. Partially migratory throughout northern latitudes in Europe and Asia, as far south as north Africa and the Mediterranean. Vagrant to Iceland, Bermuda, Japan.

Field Notes: Unmistakable large, white, water bird with orange bill. The juvenile form is mottled brown and white with an all black bill.

Personal Notes: We were lucky enough to be visiting the Isola della Cona reserve near Venice, Italy on a wet windy day when easily a hundred birds were taking refuge.