Mary Allen
We are woken up in the morning by their singing, we see them sitting in trees and bushes and occasionally flying past the window. Domestic birds are part of our everyday life. But what do we actually know about them? Here you can find out how you can recognize the most famous garden birds and how you can make life in your garden more beautiful for them.
Greenfinch
Name: Chloris chloris
Family: Finches (Fringillidae)
Description: yellow-green with gray cheeks, neck, and wings as well as bright yellow tail and wing edges (males); brownish and greenish-gray (females)
Singing: trilling, reminiscent of canaries
Occurrence: all year round
Habitat: semi-open landscapes with loose trees (e.g. parks, forest edges, gardens, villages, and cities)
Food in nature: parts of plants, berries, buds, seeds, fruits
This is how you can feed: Offer seeds and chopped nuts in bird feeders
Nest: hedges, trees, shrubs, climbing plants
Miscellaneous: Greenfinches like to come to the bird feeder in larger groups in winter.
Black redstart
Name: Phoenicurus ochruros
Family: Flycatchers (Muscicapidae)
Description: gray to black with a red tail (males); gray-brown with red tail (female)
Singing: short, unmelodic
Occurrence: March to October
Habitat: originally mountains, today cities
Food in nature: spiders, insects, larvae, berries
This is how you can add: soft food, berries
Nest: caves (e.g. building niches or artificial half caves)
Other: often sits in high places, easily recognizable by the trembling of the tail.
House sparrow
Name: Passer domesticus
Family: Sparrows (Passeridae)
Description: gray-brown (females); gray with maroon head and wings and black throat (male)
Singing: Tschilpen
Occurrence: all year round
Habitat: near people
Food in nature: grains, seeds
This is how you can feed: Offer grain mixtures in bird feeders
Nest: niches and caves
Other: One of the most common garden birds, but its population has declined in recent years.
Nuthatch
Name: Sitta europaea
Family: Nuthatch (Sittidae)
Description: blue-gray back, orange-beige belly
Singing: pipes with falling tones
Occurrence: all year round
Habitat: forest, parks, gardens near the forest
Food in nature: insects, spiders, tree seeds, nuts
This is how you can add: sunflower seeds in bird feeders, tit dumplings
Nest: high nesting caves
Other: The nuthatch can climb very well and even run upside-down along tree trunks. Its name comes from its peculiarity of sticking up entrance holes that are too large with clay.
Great tit
Name: Parus major
Family: Titmouse (Paridae)
Description: black and white head, green and yellow plumage, black belly stripe
Singing: versatile, can imitate other titmouse species
Occurrence: all year round
Habitat: Forests, avenues, gardens
Food in nature: insects, larvae, spiders, seeds, fruits
This is how you can add: fatty food, tit dumplings, berries, seeds
Nest: caves (trees, nesting boxes, house niches)
Other: The largest of the titmouse species.
Common Swift
Name: Apus apus
Family: Sailors (Apodidae)
Description: brown to black to white-gray throat, long and sickle-shaped wings
Singing: high-pitched shouts in flight
Occurrence: April to August
Habitat: cities and villages
Food in nature: catches insects in flight
This is how you can feed: only eats in flight, additional feeding is not possible.
Nest: caves in tall buildings, tree hollows
Miscellaneous: The common swift is most of the time in the air and also eats its food there. If necessary, he can even rest like sleep in flight.
House martin
Name: Delichon urbica
Family: Swallows (Hirundinidae)
Description: dark top, white bottom, and rump
Singing: soft twittering
Occurrence: April to October
Habitat: Open landscapes, villages, cities
Food in nature: catches insects in flight
This is how you can feed: only eats in flight, additional feeding is not possible.
Nest: Clay nests on house walls or under eaves, rarely on coastal cliffs
Other: House martins can often be found near bodies of water as there are many insects here.
Blackcap
Name: Sylvia atricapilla
Family: Warblers (Sylviidae)
Description: gray with black (males) or rust-brown (females) cap
Singing: melodic; Twittering followed by fluting tones
Occurrence: March to October
Habitat: forests, parks, gardens with trees
Food in nature: insects, larvae, berries, fruits
This is how you can feed: Seldom takes soft food.
Nest: in deciduous and coniferous trees
Other: You can often see the blackcap in gardens.
Carrion crow
Name: Corvus corone
Family: Corvidae
Description: completely black plumage
Singing: “krah” call, chatter, and whistling sounds
Occurrence: all year round
Habitat: open forests, rural areas, parks, and gardens
Food in nature: insects, larvae, snails, small vertebrates, seeds, roots, fruits, waste, and carrion
Nest: in woods, individual trees, or at other free-standing, high points such as masts
Other: Can be distinguished from the rook by its beak: the carrion crow has a black beak; the rook has a bare, pale beak.
Barn Swallow
Name: Hirundo rustica
Family: Swallows (Hirundinidae)
Description: dark back, white belly, reddish brown throat, and forehead, long, forked tail
Singing: melodic chirping, mostly in flight
Occurrence: April to October
Habitat: rural areas
Food in nature: catches insects in flight
This is how you can feed: only eats in flight, additional feeding is not possible.
Nest: made of clay on walls, wall projections, or beams
Miscellaneous: In the past, the barn swallow also built its nests on chimneys, which is what earned it its name.