Perching Wild Birds

[Canary42]

I've turned my back garden into a bird-friendly site, and above it there is a telephone wire to adjacent houses.

It interests me to watch birds perch on the wire to suss out the garden before descending - the interest comes from spotting which birds are natural perchers, and which ones find it quite a struggle. Chaffinches for example happily perch there for ages, Starlings however struggle to keep their balance and don't stop for long. Pigeons and Seagulls don't even try.

[A canary of course would have no problem ;-) ]

[Buenchico]

It's all to do with their toes, Canary42. Passerines (who're mainly songbirds) have three toes forward and one backward, enabling them to perch easily. Non-passerines have different toe arrangements although, somewhat confusingly, some of them are still able to perch.

If you reckon you know your British passerines, try the quiz here:
https://en.wikivet.net/Common_British_Passerines
I'm ashamed to admit I only scored 15 out of 23 :(

[Canary42]

Wow, I got 17. Some of them were quite tricky though, and well chosen to mystify.

[Buenchico]

My ornithologist friend would definitely not be impressed with my score.

However I was once delighted to point out her error when she said to me "Look at all of those crows in that field!". I'll never forget the embarrassed expression on her face when I reminded her that crows are solitary birds and her flock of 'crows' were actually rooks ;-)

[Mamyalynne]

16 for me, must do better.

[Barmaid]

22 for me!

[Buenchico]

Well done, Barmaid!

[Maydup]

To my surprise, 22 for me too! I muddled the swifts with the swallows

[Buenchico]

That's one I always get wrong too, Maydup ;-)

Well done anyway!

[perseverer]

The idea that crows are solitary birds is a bit of a myth. Crows will often form large flocks, sometimes mixed with jackdaws, especially in winter. Where crows are solitary is when it comes to nesting, whereas rooks will form large rookeries.

[david small]

15. Missed a couple that I shouldn’t have.

[Buenchico]

^^^ I was kicking myself over a few of them too, David ;-)

[Georgiesmum]

21

[Georgiesmum]

21 for me. I got my swifts and swallows muddled up!

[Buenchico]

Well done, Georgiesmum!

Swifts and swallows often result in confusion ;-)