MISSING in the East Midlands!
The following 3 birds are most at risk, and MISSING in YOUR region!
Cuckoo -83%
Willow Warbler -57%
Meadow Pipit -54%
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Please help us find them by looking out of your window, or going for a walk or hike in your local area.
Download and share our handy ‘missing’ posters below.
They help to find out important facts about the species:
1. Appearance
2. Where it's found
3. What it eats & how to feed them
4. How to help them
Songbirds Are Friends Not Food
#FriendsNotFood
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Willow Warbler -57%
(Phylloscopus trochilus)
Alert Status: Amber
Identifying Features: Willow warblers are small birds with grey-green backs and pale under parts. They have a yellow tinged chest and throat and pale supercillium (the stripe above the eye). Similar features to a chiff chaff but often with paler legs.
Average Length: 10-11.5 cm
Average Lifespan: 2 years
Average Wingspan: 16-22 cm
Beak type: Insects
Eats: Small insects and spiders, fruit and berries in Autumn
Nesting: The domed nest, made from grass, rotten wood, moss and roots, is on the ground among shrubs or grass. The nest has a side entrance and is lined with fine roots and feathers.
Where to see: Willow warblers are widespread and can be seen in suitable habitat across most of the UK.
#FindOurFriends
Cuckoo -83%
(Cuculus canorus)
Alert Status: Red
Identifying Features: The cuckoo is a dove-sized bird with blue grey upper parts, head and chest with dark barred white under parts. With their sleek body, long tail and pointed wings they are not unlike kestrels or sparrowhawks.
Average Length: 32–36 cm
Average Lifespan: 4-5 years
Average Wingspan: 54-60 cm
Beak type: Insects
Eats: Mainly insects and hairy caterpillars
Nesting: The Cuckoo is a brood parasite, it lays its eggs in other birds' nests and leaves the host birds to incubate and rear its young. Dunnocks, Robins and Meadow Pipits are frequent host birds. Each female Cuckoo specialises in using a particular host species and will lay eggs with similar markings to the host bird's eggs, and the young Cuckoo will imitate the begging calls of the host's chicks. When the Cuckoo nestling hatches, it instinctively pushes the other eggs and nestlings out of the nest.
Where to see: Cuckoos can be seen throughout the UK, but are especially numerous in southern and central England.
Meadow Pipit -54%
(Anthus pratensis)
Alert Status: Amber
Identifying Features: The Meadow Pipit looks like a song thrush, but is only slightly larger than a great tit. The male and female Meadow Pipits are alike. Typically, the upperparts are grey to olive-brown in colour with darker streaks. The underparts are pale grey or buff coloured with bold streaks and spots on the breast and flanks. The belly and outer tail feathers are white. The legs are a dull pink.
Average Length: 14.5 cm
Average Lifespan: 4 years
Average Wingspan: 22 -25 cm
Beak type: Insects
Eats: Flies, beetles, moths, spiders
Nesting: Meadow Pipits breed in open country on heaths, moors, bogs, and coastal marshes. The nest is on the ground usually well concealed, and built by the female from dry grass and lined with finer grass and hair.
Where to see: Meadow pipits are found across the UK but are most common in the west and north. In winter it moves south, to more lowland areas and becomes much commoner in the southern half of the UK. They are found in open country - upland moors to saltmarshes in summer, more agricultural land and marshes in winter. They will even come to suburban parks and playing fields.