Ireland’s Top 30 + garden birds introduces you to over thirty species you are most likely to see in your garden. It is based on results from The Garden Bird Survey, organised by BirdWatch Ireland, which runs every winter, over a thirteen-week period from the end of November to February. A grand total of over 110 species have been recorded in Irish gardens, with 65 per cent of gardens hosting up to 25 species. Large rural gardens attract the most number of species though suburban gardens compete very well and are by far the most popular and widespread garden type.
Learn more about identifying the birds in your garden: read Ireland’s Garden Birds, new second edition is available from our on line shop.
Magpie (Snag Breac)
Starling (Druid)
Bullfinch (Corcrán coille)
Identification features
A large thick set finch, larger than a robin, plump in proportion. Male: jet black crown and nape; throat, breast and belly vivid, deep pink; light grey back; black wings with a broad white wing bar; large white rump patch (best seen in flight); black tail; undertail coverts white; short, stout, dark, conical beak; dark grey legs. Female: vivid pink replaced by dull pale grey-brown; back also grey-brown. Immature: like female but lacks black cap. In flight: bouncing flight, always showing bright white rump.

Male Bullfinch (c. Oran O’Sullivan)

Female Bullfinch (c.Oran O’Sullivan)
Voice guide: Song is a soft whistling chatter, the call a weak, soft weeep.
Diet: berries and other fruit, and emerging buds. Will feed insects to nestlings.
Food to put out: Will occasionally take seed on the ground.
Nesting season: late April to mid-July.
Nest location: usually in a bush about 1–2m off the ground in areas with trees and low bushes and undergrowth, hedgerows and gardens.
Nest: a cup-shaped nest of small twigs, moss and lichens, usually lined with strands of plant material and hair. Built by the female.
Eggs: four to five, 20 mm, shiny pale green-blue eggs with dark brown or black spots and blotches mainly near the broad end of the egg.
Incubation period: thirteen to fifteen days, by the female while being fed by the male.
Fledging time: fourteen to sixteen days. Fed by male at first while female broods the chicks, then by both parents.
Number of broods reared per year: two to three.
Nest box: no.
Average lifespan: two years.
Oldest known individual: nine years.
General information
This finch is widespread in Ireland, being absent only from the extreme west and at high altitudes. Despite the colourful plumage of the male, it is not seen very often, though the soft contact call is a feature of our mixed native hedgerows. In fact, seeing an emerging bird with the large white rump patch is often the first indication of its presence. Between February and April if seed supplies are low it will take to eating buds from fruit trees (research has shown that a fruit tree can lose up to 50 per cent of its buds in spring without affecting the crop). Bullfinches are a sedentary species, usually seen alone or in pairs. Recent farming trends such as intensification of farming and hedgerow removal have contributed to their decline in some areas.
Confusion species
Male chaffinch (p. 146) lacks black on the head and breast not as red.
Long-tailed Tit (Meantán earrfhada)
Identification features
Smaller than a robin. Out-sized black and white tail, as long as its small, dull-pink, black and white body. Upperparts: head grey-white with broad black stripe above the eye; back and wings black with pink patches at the base of the wings; pale edges to the secondaries. Underside: throat and breast dirty white, becoming grey-pink on the belly and undertail; orange-red eye rings; black eyes and legs; tiny beak. In flight: reluctant to fly even short distances. Weak, slightly undulating flight. Usually seen in shrub or tree canopy, forming restless feeding flocks, ranging in size from three or four to over twenty birds.

Long-tailed Tit (c. Oran O’Sullivan)
Voice guide: Flocks in winter can be quite noisy, making a variety of calls, including a short low chrup and a faster thin ssee-ssee-ssee. Its song is similar to its call notes.
Diet: mainly small insects, caterpillars, spiders, including larvae and eggs.
Food to put out: seedcake, seed and peanuts.
Nesting season: late March to late April.
Nest location: Breeds in woodland areas with a preference for dense undergrowth. Also nests in thick hedgerows and in trees.
Nest: nest resembles an elongated ball, containing sometimes up to 2,000 feathers, held together by spiders’ webs, and very well camouflaged by a covering of lichens. Nest built by both the female and male.
Eggs: six to eight, 14 mm, shiny white or pale cream eggs with variable red-brown flecks and spots ranging from just a few to covering the egg and sometimes concentrated towards the broad end.
Incubation period: thirteen to sixteen days, mainly by the female.
Fledging time: fifteen to seventeen days, fed by both parents.
Number of broods reared per year: one.
Nest box: no.
Average lifespan: two years.
Oldest known individual: eight years.
General information
During winter nights a long-tailed tit flock, which is comprised of family members and relatives, will huddle close together for warmth. During the winter days it remains with the flock, which helps it to find food more successfully and so survive the winter. In spring the flock breaks up and each pair sets up a territory.
Confusion species
None.
Goldcrest (Cíorbhuí/Dreoilín easpaig)
Identification features
Tiny, smaller than a wren. Large head with a stripe on the centre of the crown, orange on the male and yellow on the female, bordered by black; gives the bird its name. Adult: olive green above and pale grey below. Wings are dark brown with pale edges to both primaries and secondaries, forming a pale panel on the closed wing; noticeable buff wing bar; very short, thin black beak; pink-brown legs. Black eye looks relatively large, a feature accentuated by a broad pale area around the eye. Immature: young birds lack the crown stripe. In flight: weak, slightly undulating flight, rapid wing beats. Flits from branch to branch and often hovers while catching insects on leaves.

Goldcrest (c. R. Coombes)
Voice guide: Its call, usually heard before the bird is seen, is a very thin, high-pitched, erratic szitt-szitt-szitt. Its song is also very high-pitched and includes a rapid fh-he-hee, usually repeated four times, followed by a similar more varied phrase.
Diet: Insects, especially greenfly, caterpillars and also spiders.
Food to put out: May take seed cake, fat or grated cheese.

Goldcrest (c. R. Coombes)
Nesting season: mid-April to mid-June.
Nest location: Prefers coniferous woodland, but also mixed woodland, parks and gardens with coniferous trees or bushes.
Nest: a small cup-shaped nest, which hangs from a branch. The nest is built from mosses and lichens and held together by spiders’ webs. Usually lined with feathers. Built by the female and the male.
Eggs: six to nine, 14mm, matt cream or pale brown eggs covered with fine red-brown flecks often concentrated near the broad end of the egg.
Incubation period: fifteen to seventeen days, by the female.
Fledging time: seventeen to nineteen days, fed by both parents.
Number of broods reared per year: two.
Nest box: no.
Average lifespan: two years.
Oldest known individual: five years.
General information
The goldcrest is the smallest bird in Europe and weighs just 6g. It feeds on insects, which it catches by inspecting what appears to be every inch of every leaf it comes across. In summer it raises two broods, starting the second when the first is only half-grown, and laying eggs adding up to almost twice its body weight in one brood. In winter, goldcrests from Britain and northern Europe join our own, and noticeable decreases in its population are recorded following severe winters. Goldcrests sometimes join roving flocks of tit species in winter.
Confusion species
Willow warbler (p. 114) and chiffchaff (p. 112) are similar in size and appearance but lack markings on the head and do not have wing bars.
Redwing (Deargán sneachta)
Identification Features
Smaller than a blackbird. Rusty red flanks and inner underwing, large cream supercillium, white breast and belly with dark streaking on the breast and flanks. In flight: flies straight, usually not alone. Inner part of the underwing dark rusty red, unlike that of the song thrush which is mid-brown.
Voice guide: The call is a distinctive high wheezing tzeeee, often heard from migrating birds passing overhead at night, in late autumn and
winter.

Redwing (c. R. Coombes)
Diet: Insects, also berries in autumn and winter.
Food to put out: apples on the ground.
Nesting season: Breeds from late April to end June in a variety of habitats from woodlands to gardens in Iceland, northern Europe and Russia. Has never been recorded breeding in Ireland.
Nest: a cup-shaped nest made from a variety of plant materials, sometimes lined with mud and then thin strands of grass. Built by the female.
Eggs: four to six, 26mm, shiny pale blue or green-blue or grey eggs covered with fine flecks of red-brown.
Incubation period: twelve to fifteen days, usually by the female.
Fledging time: eleven to fifteen days.
Number of broods reared per year: two.
Average lifespan: no data available.
Oldest known individual: twelve years.
General information
The redwing is a winter visitor to Ireland. Rarely seen alone, they often form flocks of hundreds and sometimes thousands of individuals. The less numerous fieldfare often joins these flocks. The redwing migrates from its breeding grounds in Iceland and northern Europe and can be heard at night flying overhead in late autumn and winter. The Irish name for this bird, deargán sneachta – which means ‘the red one of the snow’ – shows that in Ireland it was associated with cold weather and indeed during very harsh winter weather large numbers fly to Ireland to escape freezing weather conditions on the continent.
Confusion species
Song thrush (p. 104) and mistle thrush (p. 108) lack the rusty red colour on the flanks and inner underwing and do not have a pale supercilium.
Redpoll (Eargéadan/Gleoisín cúldearg)
Identification features
Slightly larger than a blue tit. Male: blood-red forehead; black bib; back streaked light and dark brown; wings darker with two pale buff wing bars, the inner one being very faint; rump pale with faint dark streaks; tail short and slightly notched; breast deep pink in breeding season, buff in winter; belly and undertail coverts white; flanks heavily streaked light and dark brown; short, stubby, pale yellow beak; legs short and black. Female and immature: no red, duller and more streaked. In flight: very bouncy flight.

Redpolls on Nyjer feeder (c. Oran O’Sullivan)
Voice guide: Calls and song include a high, thin rising oiu-eeee, also short, fast reeling notes and a chi-chi-chi-chaa.
Diet: mainly seeds; birch and alder seeds form the main part of diet. Will eat insects during the summer.
Food to put out: peanuts and nyjer seed.

Redpoll (c. Oran O’Sullivan)
Nesting season: early May to mid-July.
Nest location: Nests in birch and conifer woodlands/plantations and open scrub areas. The nest is built in a tree or bush anywhere from very close to the ground to high in a tree. Will sometime nest close to other nesting redpolls.
Nest: an untidy cup made of small twigs, grass and other plant material, lined with strands of fine plant material, hair and/or feathers.
Eggs: four to five, 17mm, slightly shiny pale green-blue eggs with a light scattering of red-brown flecks and blotches, most towards the broad end of the egg.
Incubation period: eleven to fourteen days, by the female while being fed by the male.
Fledging time: fourteen to sixteen days. Fed by male at first while female broods the chicks, then by both parents.
Number of broods reared per year: two.
Nest box: no.
Average lifespan: unknown.
Oldest known individual: eight years.
General information
A bird typical of coniferous and mixed woodlands, the redpoll breeds mainly in the north-western half of the country. It has declined as a breeding species in recent years, especially in the southeastern half of the country. In winter it is rarely found far from alders and birch, feeding acrobatically, often in the company of siskins. Redpolls of the north European and Greenland races, which are paler, have been seen in Ireland.
Confusion species
Linnet (p. 156) is bigger; grey beak; less streaked; white on the wings. Siskin (p. 154) is similar in size and body pattern but has yellow patches and no red on the head.
Sparrowhawk (Spioróg)
Identification Features
About the size of a Jackdaw. Male: blue-grey above; barred white and orange below; white vent, underside of tail, broadly barred light and dark grey-brown; short pale hooked beak with a dark tip; bright yellow eye and long yellow legs. Female: larger than the male; dark grey-brown above; pale supercilium; barred white and brown below. In flight: broad blunt-ended wings; long slightly round-ended tail; rapid wing beats with short glides; soars but does not hover.
Voice guide: Varied repertoire during the breeding season including a shrill, chattering kek-kek-kek, usually near the nest site. Food begging young birds make a high squeaking weee-weee-wee call. Silent outside the breeding season.
Diet: mainly small birds, which it catches by surprise. Females, because of their larger size, can catch much larger birds than the male, up to pigeon size.
Food to put out: none.
Nesting Season: early April to late May.
Nest Location: Nests in woodlands.
Nest: an almost flat platform of twigs, roughly lined with green leaves and small twigs. Built mainly by the female.
Eggs: 4 to 5, 40mm, matt white eggs, sometimes tinted blue with rusty red-brown and occasionally purple-blue blotches and spots varying in pattern, laid at intervals of a few days.
Incubation period: 32–36 days by the female.
Fledging time: up to 30 days, fed by both parents. Dependent on the parents for food for a month or more after fledging.
Number of broods reared per year: one.
Nest box: no.
Average lifespan: 4 years.
Oldest known individual: 17 years.
General information
The sparrowhawk, buzzard and kestrel are the most likely birds of prey to frequent gardens. The sparrowhawk employs two main hunting techniques: circling high over woodlands scanning for small bird activity below and hunting along a favoured route of hedgerows and in gardens where it ambushes its prey by surprise. There is some evidence in recent years that the sparrowhawk is declining as a breeding species in Ireland, though the cause is unknown.
Confusion species
Kestrel (p. xx) has more pointed wings and when viewed from above is warm red-brown in colour. Prefers open country, rarely seen in gardens. Buzzard is a much larger brown bird.
Pied Wagtail (Siubháinín an bhóthair)
Identification Features
Slightly larger than a robin. Male: upperparts black, except for two white wing bars; white face; black forehead and throat; black bib on the breast; belly and undertail coverts white; flanks dark grey; long black tail with white outer tail feathers, wagged frequently. Female and immature: grey mantle, back and upper wing coverts. In flight: undulating, short bursts of wing beats followed by dipping glides with wings closed.
Voice guide Call is an explosive high tchi-zzik or tsli-vitt. Song, which includes call notes, is longer and twittering.
Diet: mainly small insects.
Food to put out: Occasionally eats bread on the ground.
Nesting season: mid-April to the end of July.
Nest location: Prefers to nest in holes or covered ledges ranging from trees and walls to drain pipes and sometimes old nests of other species.
Nest: a cup-shaped nest, usually built by the female, made of plant material lined with feathers, hair or wool.
Eggs: four to five, 21mm, shiny pale blue or light grey eggs with very fine flecks of dark grey or grey-brown.
Incubation period: thirteen days, mainly by the female.
Fledging time: four days, fed by both parents.
Number of broods reared per year: one to two.
Nest box: open-front box.
Average lifespan: two years.
Oldest known individual: eleven years.
General information
A very common bird in Ireland, often referred to as ‘willy wagtail’. This bird is as much at home in the centre of cities as on open bog land. Sometimes seen removing dead insects from wing mirrors and radiator grilles of cars, and has even been known to nest in cars. In the winter, roosts in large flocks in trees and ruins, or on flat roof-tops. In large towns and cities these roosts often contain hundreds of birds.
Confusion species
Adult grey wagtail (p. 84) has lemon yellow on the undersides; young lack black on the breast.
Mistle Thrush (Smólach mór/Liatráisc)
Identification Features
Larger than a blackbird. On the ground it stands very erect and looks pot-bellied. Upperparts: dusty grey-brown; wing feathers pale fringed; pale outer tail feathers, palest at the tips. Underside: white with fine streaks and blotches on the throat and breast; belly has large distinct dark spots, not forming lines. In flight: white inner underwing; very undulating flight, a series of wing flaps and glides with wings closed.
Voice guide: Call is a distinctive rapid, harsh chattering tuck-tuck-tuck, often heard when in flight. Its song is similar to that of a blackbird but less musical and more repetitive, often delivered from a high perch, even in winter.
Diet: insects, worms and also berries in autumn and winter.
Food to put out: May take bread and apples.
Nesting season: mid-March to late May.
Nest location: usually in the fork of a tree in an open area, not usually hidden.
Nest: a large cup-shaped nest made of a variety of plant materials and some mud, lined with fine grass. Built by the female.
Eggs: three to five, 31mm, shiny eggs, ranging in colour from pale green-blue to pale cream-red with flecks, spots or blotches of rusty brown or purple-grey.
Incubation period: thirteen to sixteen days, by the female.
Fledging time: thirteen to fifteen days, fed by both parents.
Number of broods reared per year: two to three.
Nest box: no.
Average lifespan: three years.
Oldest known individual: eleven years.
General information
The mistle thrush breeds in all parts of Ireland, though scarcer on the south coast, particularly in County Cork. Unknown in Ireland up to 1800 when one was shot in County Antrim. By the end of the nineteenth century it was breeding in every county. The reasons for this colonisation are unknown. In the breeding season it feeds its young mainly on caterpillars and flies. In the winter it defends a feeding territory, especially a berry bush or tree, with a particular fondness for holly trees. On the continent it defends large areas of mistletoe, from which it gets its name. Less migratory than other thrushes, our own birds are sedentary and are joined by small numbers from Britain in the winter. Forms loose, roving family flocks in late summer.
Confusion species
Song thrush (p. 104) is much smaller, with warmer colours; light brown inner underwing, does not look so spotted.
Pheasant (Coilleach coille)
Identification Features
Male: unmistakable red face, white neck ring on most individuals; rich russet body and tail tones; plump body; pale rump patch; short legs; tail longer than its body. Female: much plainer, mottled brown, shorter tail. A fast runner and usually flies only when absolutely necessary. In flight: rises steeply when flushed, rapid wing beats interspersed with glides, rarely travels more than a 100m before diving for cover.
Voice guide: The best time of year to hear a pheasant is in late spring or early summer when the male ‘sings’, a loud hoarse “kork-kork” accompanied by audible wing-flapping. Also an alarm call, repeated “ku-tuk, ku-tuk”…
Diet: Feeds by scratching on the ground and will take buds and fruit from trees. Has a varied diet of seeds, vegetable matter, insects, spiders, etc.
Food to put out: seeds and bread on the ground.
Nesting Season: mid-April to mid-August.
Nest location: Nests concealed on the ground in a wide variety of habitats from farmland to bogs.
Nest: a small hollow in the ground, usually unlined.
Eggs: 8 to 14, 46mm, shiny unmarked eggs, colours varying from pale brown to olive or blue-grey.
Incubation period: 25 days by female only.
Fledging time: 12 to 14 days; young leave the nest soon after hatching and can feed themselves but stay close to the female for 10 or 11 weeks.
Number of broods reared per year: 1.
Nest box: no.
Average lifespan: no data.
Oldest known individual: no data.
General information
A very distinctive game bird, often seen foraging along roads or exploding from cover along the margins of farmland. Believed to have been introduced into Ireland around 1590 probably from Britain or western Europe, but originating in Asia. Reasonably common throughout Ireland. The ‘wild’ population is supplemented annually by the release of hand-reared birds by gun clubs and up to 200,000 are shot each year.
Pheasants usually enter gardens in autumn and winter.
Confusion species
Female or young pheasants are often mistaken for corncrakes, which are extremely rare and secretive; They are much smaller with short tail, rusty-brown wings and a rasping crex-crex call.
Jay (Scréachóg choille)
Identification Features
The most colourful of our crows, about the same size as a jackdaw. Upperparts: Finely streaked pale blue and black patches on the leading edge of the wing. White patches on black secondaries, white rump and dark tail. Underside: pink-brown body with white throat and undertail. In flight: only large woodland bird with large white rump.
Voice guide: Can be very noisy. The call is a loud raucous kchaack repeated at varying intervals, often delivered from deep cover.
Diet: caterpillars, beetles and other insects. In the autumn and winter will also eat fruit and seeds. Famous for hiding acorns.
Food to put out: fruit, seed cake; will occasionally take peanuts from feeders.
Nesting season: March and April.
Nest location: woodland and parkland habitats. The nest is usually built against the trunk or in a fork in a tree.
Nest: a cup-shaped nest made of twigs and some earth lined with light plant material and hair.
Eggs: four to six, 31mm, slightly shiny eggs ranging from pale blue-green to pale olive covered with fine flecks of light brown, grey or green and often scribbles towards the broad end.
Incubation period: sixteen to eighteen days by both parents.
Fledging time: 20–24 days. Fed initially by the male and then by both parents.
Number of broods reared per year: one.
Nest box: no.
Average lifespan: no data available.
Oldest known individual: sixteen years.
General information
The jay in Ireland is a separate race from that elsewhere in Europe, being noticeably darker and browner. Records show that the jay was very scarce in Ireland at the beginning of the nineteenth century, largely attributed to destruction of habitat and hunting. The bird was hunted mainly for its beautiful blue wing feathers, which are used to make fly hooks for fishing. Since the beginning of the twentieth century the jay has expanded its range and is now found in and around deciduous and coniferous woodlands in most parts of the country, though it is nowhere very common.
Confusion species
None.