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Usborne Nature Cards
These colourful, fact-filled cards show 30 L common birds to spot and identify
Charming pictures on the front Niiesi si |
of the cards make it a to black bump at the top ee | recognize each bird.—-
White body
“08 the back, there
Trang 4Blue tits often live in
noisy flocks Listen for
their ‘tsee-tsee-tsee’
dnd ‘churrrrr’ calls
Look for them on bird feeders, or
flitting dtound hedgerows dnd trees
They eat nuts, seeds, and
small insects
Ry Feathery fact: Blue tits can feed their chicks up
Trang 6Buzzards are big birds You can see them Soaring over farmland,
hills, moors and woods
Look out for them perching on tall trees or fence posts
Listen for their
crying ‘mew’ call while
they are Flying They Swoop down to the ground to
catch rabbits and
other small dnimals
Feathery fact: To impress a female, the male
Trang 8Canada geese are big water birds
You're likely to see them in
flocks on lakes and rivers, or grazing in grassy fields
honk, honk sao
Listen for their noisy, honkin calls, especially while they're Flying
Baby geese are called goslin S
They have fluffy, yellow ue
s brown feathers
Feathery fact: Canada geese haven't always lived NV in the UK They were brought here as a present
Trang 10You can see chaffinches in gardens, parks, woods
and farmland
dwtichi¿~ cheep
Listen for their loud pimk-pink and ‘chitichiri-cheeip’ calls
Male chaffinches are edsy to Spot ` Look out for their colourful blue and pink feathers
\ ee
| , They have stripy wings
and tails, too
Trang 12Look for collared doves
walking along the ground in
parks and gardens
You might also see
them flapping and gliding in th Sky Listen for their loud 'c000=c00=co0'
call They Sing it
again and again iq Collared doves make messy, loose
nests from piled—up twigs,
Trang 14Look out for crows in parks,
Fields, woods and moors
They are usually on their own ot in pairs
Try to spot them Soaring and gliding in the sky, The ends of their wings look like Fingers
Crows edt lots of things You
might see them pickin at Scraps by the roadside 3 They have a deep, harsh ‘krad~kraa’ call,
Feathery fact: Crows dre clever birds They have
been seen opening sea shells by dropping them from
Trang 16Coots dre water birds You can see them on lakes and rivers
ye
Listen for their loud 0, pik kwok' call, followed by si Squeaky ‘pik’ Sounds
Coots have big, wide toes
This helps them to swim
~ Before they take
nà off, coots run dcross
the water, Splashing their
feet and Flapping their wings
SY Feathery fact: Male coots often Fight each other
Trang 17Cuckoo
Trang 18
You're more likely to hear a cuckoo than see it Listen for their familiar ‘cuck-coo' call in Summer
They live in woods, moors and boggy places
Look for cuckoos on telephone wires or Flying
from tree to tree
They drop to the
ground to feed
«on insects
Trang 206oldfinches are colourful birds Look out for their bright red and gold feathers, They have a bouncy, skipping Flight Listen for their twittering and trilling Song
Goldfinches feed in large
flocks You might see them
on garden bird feeders
Trang 22Great tits live in flocks in
gardens, parks and woods
They have a ‘ted-cher,
tea-cher" song, = 2>
Look out for great
tits budging smaller birds out of the way on bird feeders
They eat insects,
seeds, berries and nuts, often Feeding
on the ground
Trang 24
Look for great spotted woodpeckers clinging to tree trunks or branches They make nests by digging holes in trees with their beaks They catch insects with their long, sticky tongues
You might see them Flying,
X0 Ì ey have a Flapping,
bouncing Flight Feathery fact: Great spotted woodpeckers have very
Trang 26You can see herons standing in boggy fields or wading
through water
They catch Fish by stabbing them with their sharp beaks
To
You might see a heron Flying
Look out for its long wings
and dangling legs
& Feathery fact: Herons can stand completely still in
Trang 28Herring gulls are noisy birds Listen for them squdwkin around the seaside, and over
lakes and farmland
They live in large CIGCRS ee Look for them wheeling a
about in the sky ` You núi see quļs nesting on cliff ledges, or anywhere up high, like rooftops ae pots
Feathery fact: Herring gulls will eat almost anything `
Trang 29Jay Speckly patch (AWE on head Thick black SS No Stripe by beak - Black and whit
< wings with bright |
Trang 30
Jays often hide in garden
trees and woods, so you're more likely to hear than
see them
Look out for the bright white feathers
on their Pumps
You might Spot jays on the ground
in dutumn, burying nuts to
edt in the winter
They can carry lots
of dcorns in a pouch
under their throat
Feathery fact: Jays let ants crawl over their
Feathers This is probably because the ants help
to clean them
Trang 32Long-tailed tits are tiny bind? with long tails Try to
spot them flitting around trees and hedgerows
Listen for
their chatterin 9 Sg CLS = '‘tsee, tSee, tSee call a4
They're rarely on their own,
ee tits stick together in flocks See if you can spot one hanging upside-down
1 Feathery fact: Long-tailed tits build stretchy nests out of moss and animal hair, bound together
Trang 33~—Black hedd White patch on wings Long legs Wy Black and
Trang 34Look for ae by the roadside, and in parks, ie farmland
and woods Magpies are edsy to
Spot while they are Flying They have a long, trailing tail Magpies have 4 noisy, ‘chacker—chacker’ call A
They build big, mess nests from twigs ad
mud high up in trees
Trang 35Mallard Female Speckly Brown Blue patch hận Diệp seat ` 0n wing : meme aN < ` ` Nx.< te Male Glassy dark
Bright purplish-blue | s Curly tail
Trang 36
h Mallards are a type of duck
` e® You can find them on rivers, ponds and lakes
Look for them dipping their heads into the water to ƒ reach for food
y This is called dabbling
i Ducklings can go into the oe
water a5 soon as they hatch Only the females can say ‘quack’ The males make a quiet ‘raab’ sound
Feathery fact: In summer, male mallards lose their
Trang 37Mute swan
Bright orange beak with black bump at the top
Long,
Trang 38Mute swans are large water
birds with bright, white
s feathers Look for them on lakes and rivers
yg
Fe
See if you can spot a
a group of mute swans si oe Flying in d v-Shape = ours ` : ý
in the sky oo
Mute swans make punting and
whistling calls When t ey're angry,
== theu hiss and arch their wings
hisssssss
Ww Feathery fact: In the UK, the Queen owns all mute
Trang 40The best time to see puffins
iS in Spring and summer, when they come dShore to nest
Look for them high up on Sed cliffs, where they nest in burrows or
in cracks ae rocks 2
Listen out for their growling,
grunting noises,
You might also
see them divin
Trang 42Robins have a loud, high,
warbling Song, You can
Sometimes hear them
calling at night, too
They make their homes in
aah woods and fields
\ 5 ụ \ |
You might see them
swooping to the ground,
looking for food If two robins get too
near edch other, the are likely to Fight
Ww Feathery fact: Robins often follow gardeners,
Trang 43Song thrush
Trang 44You can see song thrushes in ardens and woods Look out
for their speckly tummies
They have a loud, warbling song * You might see Song thrushes running
along the ground, then standing still,
listening for worms
Song thrushes also eat snails, ” They open the shells by smashing them
against a stone
Trang 46House sparrows live wherever there dre people You can
see them in towns, dnd in nearby woods and fields
They are noisy birds Listen
for their ‘cheep cheep’ call
Look for Sparrows Feeding in flocks They eat all kinds of things - seeds, insects and food people leave behind
Trang 47Starling
Sharp, Glossy, black and
Trang 48Starlings live in cities, gardens,
woods and farmland You might see then Flying in big flocks at dusk They look like oy clouds of Smoke bee BEL Wie Starlings poke their beaks into the ground to “Ss Cind toodi i Ti SEE DE
Listen for their noisy, chatterin
call, with a mixture of squeaks, clicks
and whistles
Feathery fact: otarlings copy the calls of other
Rw birds, animals, and even sounds such as phones
Trang 50Tawny owls fly around at
night, So you are more likely to hear than see them
Listen for a female owl hooting ‘tu-whit'’ The male
answers ‘hoo, tu~whoo’
straight afterwards
Tawny owls swallow „sỹ es ale their prey whole seaacsice 280i
They bring up the bones ‘and hair of their prey in
pellets, like these
In the daytime, you might Spot a tawny
owl sitting in a tree, asleep
Feathery fact: Tawny owls have very good
hearing They can find prey in the dark just by
Trang 52Woodpigeons live in ardens, parks, woods and farmland
Listen for their cooing SS call Their wings also '
make a loud i sound when they take off
You might See woodpigeons waddling along the ground
“picking up shoots and seeds
garden birds than most o
= kờ They are bigger
PES ” i
Rw Feathery fact: Woodpigeons bring up a runny paste
Trang 53\ Wren
/
Short, White stripe
Trang 54Wrens dre some of the
smallest garden birds
You have to look very carefully
to see them They scuttle around
/ _ đeep in bushes
Listen for their loud, warblin
song with fast, low trills Wrens live almost anywhere, from
gardens, parks and woods, to cliffs
and moors
WK Feathery fact: On winter nights, wrens huddle
Trang 56You can See swallows in
summer, twisting and
turning in the sky as they it insects, They build nests ek 4 i y mud on ledges, or inside old uildings
They come back to the
Sdme nests every yedr
—Hay VỆ
Elie C
Swallows fly to warmer countries in the winter to find food Before they
90, theu gather in big flocks
w Feathery Fact: Swallows can fly up to 200 miles
Trang 57Blackbird
Yellowy~orange beak HẠNG %
Trang 58You can see blackbirds in gardens, woods and
arks The females are actually brown
Male blackbirds have a loud,
tuneful Song They often Sing
dt sunrise dnd sunset You usually see blackbirds
alone They bow and tun at
other birds to scare them away,
You might also see
- them on the ground,
looking for worms
dnd insects to edt
Trang 59Pheasant
Female pecklu, pale brown
Trang 60Look out for colourful male heasants in farmland and woods Females are pale brown,
Kok, kok, Kok wt austen
When startled, 008
pheasants rocket '; into the air,
whirring their wings
and eating ‘kok,
kok, kok’
Pheasants run fast and
often run rather than Fly,
N Feathery fact: Pheasants are called game birds
Trang 62You can see barn owls Flying low over fields at nig +, Listen for their shrieking call When they're hunting,
they plunge head-first to the ground,
They swallow 4
their food whole ý
Barn owls sleep in barns and hollow trees,