Birding FAQ

FAQ in this category 'Glossary'

Do you have a Glossary of Birding terms and expressions?

Aberrant

Abnormal or atypical; unlike most of its species. Examples of aberrant plumage could be an albino Blackbird or a melanistic (all black) Robin. A Treecreeper that spent most of its time feeding on the ground away from trees would be an example of aberrant behaviour.

A naturally occurring poison found on a variety of foodstuffs including peanuts. Aflatoxin is impossible to detect with the naked eye and is ten times more lethal than cyanide or strychnine. In mild doses death is thought to take hours or days, and may result from secondary causes such as damage to the immune system. CJ Wildlife sells only Peanuts with no detectable traces of aflatoxin

As the name suggests, one of a series of calls designed to warn other birds of danger or summon help. Most bird species have distinctive alarms calls for different threats, such as a ground predator, aerial predator or roosting bird of prey. The aerial predator call is usually very "thin" and high pitched, making it difficult for the Sparrowhawk or whatever to locate the alarming bird whilst still warning other birds in the area.

What most birdwatchers prefer to be called. See twitcher.

The collective term for the young birds of a breeding attempt. Can refer to the young birds in a nest, a group of dependent young that have fledged, or to the number of breeding attempts, some birds are single-brooded but some have multiple broods in any one breeding season.

When an adult bird gently sits on nestlings to keep them warm or dry, this is referred to as brooding. On unhatched eggs the same process is called incubation.

Any sound made by a bird's voice which isn't song. Alarm calls or "contact calls", used to keep a flock together, are typical examples.

The eggs laid by a female for one nesting attempt. If a bird's normal clutch size is five and that nest is destroyed, she will normally lay five eggs in the replacement nest. For most garden birds, incubation does not start until the clutch is completed.

A member of the crow family. Birders will often refer to a mixed flock of Crows and Rooks as a corvid flock.

The daily peak of bird song, at its best in broadleaved woodland in May.

A behaviour that signals some sort of message. Typical displays include territorial displays (where the message is often simply "keep out"), courtship displays, aggressive displays aimed at displacing a potential rival, and song flights. Wildfowl often display very obviously during the winter months as their courtship reaches a peak at this time.

Any area where food is deliberately provided for birds or other wildlife.

Species which exist as a self-sustaining population but which were originally introduced to an area deliberately or accidentally.

Fledgling

Literally a young bird on the point of, or after, leaving the nest. Not to be confused with fledging, which is the act of leaving the nest. The term refers only to birds which develop in the nest, as opposed to those birds such as wildfowl which leave the nest shortly after hatching.

When an adult bird gently sits on unhatched eggs to keep them warm or dry, this is referred to as incubation. On nestlings the same process is called brooding.

A species which migrates to an area irregularly - only during exceptional conditions, such as adverse weather or lack of food. Strictly speaking, irruptions are distinct from migrations as they are not a regular movement.

A juvenile bird is one which still has its fledgling plumage. Technically, immature can mean the same as juvenile, but it usually refers to a sub-adult plumage, as seen in birds such as gulls or larger birds of prey which take two or more years to attain full adult plumage.

A regular seasonal movement of all or part of a bird population.

The process by which old feathers are dropped and replaced. Many garden birds start moulting at the end of the breeding season and tend to be much less obvious during this period as their reduced ability to fly makes them vulnerable to predators. Wildfowl typically drop all of their flight feathers at once and form large "moulting flocks" on open water.

A young bird in the nest. Nestlings remain as such until they fledge.

Normally taken to mean "in flight".

As the name suggests, the act of spending the winter in a place.

A bird "on passage" or passing through an area.  A passage bird neither breeds nor overwinters, and is often referred to as a passage migrant.

The birds which are usually referred to as songbirds. Most typical garden or parkland visitors are passerines.

Feathers are essential to birds, being used for flight, warmth, waterproofing, streamlining and display or camouflage. Preening is the act of maintaining feathers by keeping them in order with repeated stroking movements of the bill or feet. At the same time oil from the preen gland at the upper base of the tail is often applied to the plumage, although some birds such as herons use a dry powder instead.

A bird of prey such as a Kestrel, Hawk or Eagle.

A species which is present throughout the year. The other categories are summer migrants/breeders, overwintering species or passage migrants.

Placing a metal ring, marked with a unique number and contact address, on a bird's leg so that the bird can be identified if it is recaptured or found at a later date. Combinations of coloured rings can allow birds to be identified in the field without capture. The information gained from ringing allows for bird populations to be monitored to a degree that would be impossible if the birds could not be identified as individuals.

Roosting

In simple terms another word for sleeping. Some birds roost discretely amongst vegetation or, particularly during cold weather, in nest boxes, while others form large communal roosts. Hundreds or even thousands of Starlings will sometimes roost in town centres or reedbeds, forming an amazing spectacle. Nocturnal birds such as owls roost during the day.

Territory

An area used for one or more purposes by a bird or colony of birds. Breeding territories can range from hundreds of acres in the case of birds like Golden Eagles, while for colonial nesters such as House Sparrows or many of our sea birds, it may extend no further than the confines of the nest.

One of a group of long-legged birds usually associated with marshland, mudflats or shallow water.

A collective term for geese and ducks.

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