A-Z of Birds

Woodpeckers

Acorn Woodpecker

Often dubbed the “clown-faced woodpecker”, acorn woodpeckers are distinctive red-crowned woodland birds found along the Pacific Coast of the United States. As well as their striking appearance, they are known for their intricate carpentry work to create “granaries” in trees for storing acorns.

Jacanas

African Jacana

The African Jacana is monotypic and hails from the family Jacanidae which consists six genera and eight species. These unusual wading birds are identified by their long legs and extremely long slim toes and claws which enable them to distribute their weight evenly, thereby allowing them to walk across water on thin and flimsy floating vegetation.

Crows

Alpine Chough

A medium-sized member of the crow family that breeds at high altitudes. It is also referred to as the Yellow-billed Chough.

Swifts

Alpine Swift

Breeding throughout mountainous regions of southern Europe and across to the Himalayas these birds are migratory, overwintering in southern Africa or central India. Worldwide, there are a total of ten subspecies from the nominate species, apus melba.

Woodpeckers

American Three-toed Woodpecker

One of two North American woodpecker species with three toes, the American three-toed woodpecker is widespread across much of Canada and also resident in the Rocky Mountain states of the US. Three-toed feet are a particularly useful adaptation that allow these woodpeckers to lean back further while clinging to a tree, and therefore deliver stronger, more powerful blows when striking the trunk.

Warblers

Aquatic Warbler

Aquatic warblers are rare and temporary migrants to parts of southern England each autumn, en-route from their breeding grounds in Poland, Ukraine and Belarus to their winter territories in West Africa. Only around 40 sightings are reported each year, with the species classed as vulnerable and in decline.

Divers

Arctic Loon

One of only five species of Divers or Loons, the northern hemisphere’s Arctic Loon has a particularly spectacular monochrome patternation in its breeding plumage, covering its neck, chest, mantle and scapulars.

Gulls and terns

Arctic Tern

The Arctic Tern is a widespread and beautiful seabird that undertakes a remarkable migration. Drawn by the promise of rich feeding grounds and endless days, these graceful birds fly to opposite ends of the Earth and back each year.

Woodpeckers

Arizona Woodpecker

Arizona woodpeckers are small woodpeckers, native to a small area centered on oak, sycamore and pine forests in the southwestern corner of Arizona and across the border in a strip that runs through western Mexico. Due to their remote nesting sites, there is little detailed information available about this species.

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