MISSING in Scotland!
The following 3 birds are most at risk, and MISSING in YOUR region!
Greenfinch -67%
Curlew -59%
Lapwing -56%
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Songbirds Are Friends Not Food
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
#FindOurFriends
Curlew -59%
(Numenius arquata)
Greenfinch -67%
(Carduelis chloris)
Lapwing -56%
(Vanellus vanellus)
Alert Status: Red
Identifying Features: The curlew is a wader with a distinctive long, slender, curved beak. Usually a greyish brown with a blue tone to their grey legs. Its call is a loud "curloo-oo".
Average Length: 50-60 cm
Average Lifespan: 11 years
Average Wingspan: 89-106 cm
Eats: Mainly on mud or very soft ground, using curved beak to search for worms and other invertebrates, sometimes crabs
Nesting: a bare scrape on open ground
Where to see: Should be seen on wetlands, moorlands and mudflats throughout UK, but populations are very low.
Alert Status: Green
Identifying Features: Mostly olive green with a yellow tinge to the underbelly with yellow to the outer wings. Usually brighter in summer.
Average Length: 15cm
Average Lifespan: 2 Years
Average Wingspan: 25-28 cm
Beak type: Seeds
Eats: Seeds, wild fruit & berries
How to feed: Hanging feeders & bird tables
What to feed: Sunflower hearts, black sunflower seeds, seed mixtures
Nesting: Usually in colonies in dense shrubs, constructed of twigs & grass lined with fine roots & hair
Where to see: Common UK birds found in woodland, hedges and gardens.
Alert Status: Red
Identifying Features: From a distance the Lapwing appears black above and white below, but closer observation will reveal the upperparts as a beautiful iridescent dark green and purple. The breast and cheeks are white and under-tail coverts are orange-brown. The legs are pink.
Average Length: 28-31 cm
Average Lifespan: 4-5 years
Average Wingspan: 70-76 cm
Beak type: Insects
Eats: Earthworms, beetles, flies and caterpillars
Nesting: The nest is a shallow hollow, usually in an open area, for example: meadow, marshland, farmland, and industrial sites, indeed, anywhere there is bare ground and damp areas for the chicks to feed.
Where to see: Lapwings are found on farmland throughout the UK particularly in lowland areas of northern England, the Borders and eastern Scotland.