Garden birds

Nestcam close-ups, expert identification guides and specialist wildlife cameras give a privileged view of a very British obsession: garden birds. Whether it's to attract the red-breasted robin, the little Jenny wren or the sensational singing blackbird, we entice birds into our back gardens and outdoor spaces and witness the dramas of their fleeting lives. From the difference between garden, willow and wood warblers to an intimate view of the promiscuous dunnock, this video collection represents garden bird highlights from the BBC's wildlife archive.

See the top 10 garden plants for wildlife.

What to feed the wildlife in your garden.

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45 video clips in this collection

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View all 45 video clips

Animals in this collection

  • A bearded tit perched perched between two reeds (c) Ian Hull Bearded tit

    Bearded tits are particularly vulnerable to long cold winters, when populations can be...

  • Blue tit on a branch (c) Leonard Davis Blue tit

    Blue tits are bright, inquisitive little birds that have been shown to use aromatic...

  • A carrion crow Carrion crow

    Carrion crows are found in western Europe and throughout Asia.

  • Portrait of a chaffinch perched on a branch (c) Graham Brownlow Chaffinch

    Chaffinches are cheerful

  • Chiffchaff perched on a thorn plant (c) Tim Donovan Chiffchaff

    Chiffchaffs are extremely active birds, constantly flicking their tails and wings while...

  • Coal tit perched on a branch (c) Tim Stenton Coal tit

    Coal tits are similar to great tits, but less colourful.

  • Blackbird perched on a branch (c) Elle Lee Blackbird

    Blackbirds are ground feeders pulling worms and pecking at insects and berries at the...

  • Crested tit perched on a tree trunk (c) Nichola Knight Crested tit

    Crested tits are not as colourful as other tits, but have their identifying crests and...

  • Close up of a dunnock (c) Paul Fram Dunnock

    Dunnocks are common little garden and hedgerow birds.

  • Collared dove perched on tree branch Collared dove

    Since the UK's first breeding collared doves were recorded in the mid-1950s, their...

  • Jay perched on a branch (c) Mike Rawlings Jay

    Jays are strikingly coloured members of the crow family, found throughout England and...

  • A female sparrowhawk perched on the branch of an oak tree Sparrowhawk

    Sparrowhawks are so-named because 98% of their diet consists of other birds.

  • Treecreeper clinging onto a tree trunk Treecreeper

    At first glance, treecreepers look very much like mice as they hop up tree trunks, which...

  • Goldfinch perched on a tree stump (c) Chris Barber Goldfinch

    Goldfinches are strikingly beautiful examples of the

  • Greenfinch perched on a branch (c) Margaret Sweeny Greenfinch

    Greenfinches are very common UK countryside and garden birds.

  • A magpie on the ground Magpie

    Magpies are jacks of all trades:

  • Robin looking towards camera (c) Nick Stacey Robin

    Robins are one of the only UK birds to be heard singing in the garden on Christmas day.

  • Starling on a tree branch (c) Ian Mitchell Starling

    Although seen in their millions in the spectacular winter aerial displays, starlings...

  • Fieldfare on branch Fieldfare

    When the fieldfare begins to arrive en-masse in search of warmer weather, our winter is...

  • Male and female greenfinch by water Finches

    Finches are a family of birds sometimes known as the true finches.

  • Garden warbler on elderberry tree Garden warbler

    Garden warblers are fairly nondescript as warblers go, similar to many other warbler...

  • Male goldcrest, with crest showing, perched in a pine tree Goldcrest

    Goldcrests vie with their cousins, firecrests, for the title of the UK's smallest...

  • Juvenile great spotted woodpecker on a branch (c) Izzy Standbridge Great spotted woodpecker

    Great spotted woodpeckers are the most widespread and numerous woodpecker in the UK.

  • A great tit in flight (c) Jerry Nicholls Great tit

    Great tits are colourful both in their

  • House sparrow perched on a fence post (c) Paul Cooper House sparrow

    House sparrows are perhaps the most cosmopolitan of all birds, and have lived alongside...

  • Protrait of a jackdaw (c) Olive Taylor Jackdaw

    Diminutive members of the crow family, jackdaws are renowned for their love - and often...

  • Linnet perched on gorse (c) Jeff Cohen Linnet

    Linnets are widespread and common throughout much of Europe, often breeding in small...

  • Reed bunting perched on a grass stem (c) Chris Cox Reed bunting

    Reed buntings are some of the most 'adulterous' birds on record.

  • Pigeon in flight Pigeon

    Pigeons are domesticated rock doves that have returned to wild or semi-wild conditions.

  • Two rooks perched on fence post Rook

    Rooks often earned the ire of farmers for their omnivorous diet which includes seeds and...

  • Five rose-ringed parakeets perched on a tree branch Ring-necked parakeet

    Ring-necked parakeets are the only species of parrot that live wild in the UK.

  • Song thrush at water Song thrush

    Ringing out loud and clear across the neighbourhood, the song thrush performs the most...

  • Stock dove on moss (c) George Findlay Stock dove

    Stock doves are rather like, and often mistaken for, feral rock pigeons.

  • Tawny owl landing on a tree stump (c) Phil Winter Tawny owl

    Tawny owls are the most common and widespread of British owls.

  • Profile of a turtle dove Turtle dove

    Turtle doves often crop up in verse as symbols of devoted love, though feeding your...

  • Willow warbler perched on a branch Willow warbler

    Willow warblers look almost identical to chiffchaffs.

  • Wren perching on a branch (c) Gray Clements Wren

    Wrens are surprisingly loud despite their tiny stature.

Habitats in this collection

  • Round straw bales in a field Farmland

    Farmland is essentially a non-natural environment that has been deliberately cleared to...

  • Wildflowers and pine trees in the New Forest National Park Heathland

    Heathlands are lowland areas dominated by colourful heather, gorse and bracken.

  • View up into the canopy of sequoia redwoods Coniferous forest

    The coniferous forests of temperate regions undergo warm summers and cool winters,...

  • World map of urban areas. The brightest areas are the most urbanized, but not necessarily the most populated. Urban

    Urban habitats are areas dominated by human activities and human constructions.

Adaptations in this collection

  • Culture

    Culture is a social system or set of behaviours that is passed down through the...

  • Wildebeest migration in Kenya Migration

    Migration is the usually seasonal movement of animals in pursuit of food, suitable...

  • Black-blotched porcupinefish has inflated its body while swimming Predation defence

    Predation defence comes in many forms: physiological, anatomical and behavioural.

  • Sloth hanging from a tree branch Adapted to climbing

    Scansorial describes animals that spend much of their life climbing such as squirrels,...

  • Male western lowland gorilla reaching for soil to eat Hierarchical

    Hierarchical animals have what is known colloquially as a 'pecking order'.

  • A chimpanzee making a pant hoot call Acoustic communication

    Acoustic communication is the sending and receiving of messages using sound.

  • A male South American sealion with three females looking upwards Polygynous

    Polygynous sexual behaviour is the system in which a single male mates with multiple...

  • A shoal of fish Swarming

    Swarming happens when animals gather or travel together in large numbers.

  • Brown capuchin monkey using a rock as a tool to break open Brazil nuts Tool use

    Tool use was once thought to be a strictly human behaviour, but it is now known that...