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What's that bird? Identify any UK bird, free

Heard it, saw it or got a photo? Pick the route that matches what you have. Everything runs in your browser and covers all 721 birds in the UK Birdedex.

🎙️ Identify a bird by sound 📷 Ask about a photo

Updated 26 October 2026 · UK birds · No sign-up for sound ID

Three ways to name a bird

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You heard it

Open Bird Hear, hold your phone up for 10 seconds and two AI models, BirdNET and Perch, name the bird from its song or call. Works on songs, calls and most bird noises. How sound ID works.

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You saw it

Answer the five questions below, then search the Birdedex or the A to Z of UK species. Every species page has photos, habitat, the months to look and the birds it gets mixed up with.

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You have a photo

Post it in the ID Zone with a free account. Add where and when, plus any clues. Other birders vote on the ID. Audio clips work there too.

Saw a bird? Five questions that narrow it down

Most UK birds can be named from these five things. Note them before the bird flies, then check.

Size. Compare it with a bird you know. Smaller than a Robin, Robin to Blackbird, Blackbird to pigeon, or bigger than a pigeon.
Shape and bill. Short and stubby bill for seeds (finches), thin and pointed for insects (warblers, Wren), hooked for meat (birds of prey). Long tail or short? Upright or horizontal?
Colours and marks. Pick out the one or two loudest features: a red face, a white rump, wing bars, a spotted breast, an eye stripe.
What it was doing. Hopping on the lawn, climbing a trunk, hovering, wading, diving, flocking. Behaviour cuts the list fast.
Where and when. Garden, wood, coast, wetland or farmland, and the month. A Swallow in January or a Redwing in July is very unlikely.

Then check the month-by-month guides in Guides to see which birds are around right now.

The 20 garden birds you are most likely to see

Start here. Most "what bird is this?" questions from a garden end up being one of these.

Blue Tit: Blue cap, yellow underside, white cheeks. Hangs upside down on feeders.
Great Tit: Black head, white cheeks, yellow belly with a black stripe down the middle.
House Sparrow: Male has a grey crown and black bib. Noisy groups in hedges.
Robin: Orange-red face and breast. Sings all year round.
Blackbird: Male all black with an orange-yellow bill. Female dark brown.
Starling: Glossy and dark with a short tail. Pale spots in winter. Spiky triangle wings in flight.
Wood Pigeon: Big grey pigeon with a white patch on the neck.
Collared Dove: Slim, pale buff-grey, with a thin black half-collar.
Magpie: Black and white with a long tail. Loud rattling call.
Jackdaw: Small crow with a grey nape and a pale eye. Often in pairs.
Goldfinch: Red face and a bright yellow bar on a black wing.
Chaffinch: Male has a pink breast and blue-grey cap. Both sexes show white wing bars.
Greenfinch: Chunky and olive green with yellow flashes in the wing and tail.
Dunnock: Brown and grey with a streaky back and a thin bill. Shuffles under feeders.
Long-tailed Tit: Tiny pink, white and black ball with a long tail. Moves in flocks.
Coal Tit: Small tit with a black cap and a white patch on the back of the head.
Wren: Tiny and brown with a cocked tail. Far louder than its size.
Nuthatch: Blue-grey back and a black eye stripe. Climbs down trees head first.
Great Spotted Woodpecker: Black and white with red under the tail. Drums on trees in late winter.
Song Thrush: Brown back, cream breast covered in neat dark spots.

More in the UK garden birds guide. Tick them off as you go in your Birdedex.

Heard a bird noise? What it probably is

The quickest answer is to record it with Bird Hear. These are the noises people ask about most.

A hoot or a sharp "ke-wick" at night. Tawny Owl. "Twit-twoo" is usually two birds: the female calls ke-wick and the male answers with the hoot.
A bird singing in the dark. Often a Robin under a street light. Robins sing almost all year, autumn and winter included.
Thin "tseep" calls overhead on autumn nights. Redwings migrating in from Scandinavia, mostly October and November.
A long, harsh screech at dusk. Barn Owl. They screech rather than hoot.
Two notes see-sawing, "tea-cher, tea-cher". Great Tit, from late winter onwards.
A loud, fast trill from a small bird in a hedge. Wren.
A scream like someone in trouble. Usually a fox, not a bird.

Want to learn songs by ear? The daily Bird Call game plays a recording and you guess the bird.

Bird identification FAQ

What is the best free way to identify a bird in the UK?

It depends what you have. If you heard it, record 10 seconds with Bird Hear and two AI models name it. If you saw it, work through size, shape, colour, behaviour and place, then check the species page. If you have a photo, post it in the ID Zone and the community helps. All three are free and run in your browser.

How do I identify a bird by its sound?

Open Bird Hear on your phone, allow the microphone and hold the phone towards the bird for 10 seconds. BirdNET and Perch both check the clip and you get the most likely birds with a confidence score. Treat a Low score as a maybe and listen to the reference recording to compare.

Can I identify a bird from a photo?

Yes. Post the photo in the ID Zone with a free account. Add the place, the date and anything you noticed (size, call, what it was doing). Other birders vote on the ID. Even a blurry photo usually shows enough shape and colour to narrow it down.

What bird is making that noise at night?

In the UK it is most often a Tawny Owl (a hoot or a sharp ke-wick), a Robin singing under a street light, or in October and November thin tseep calls from Redwings migrating overhead. A scream like someone in trouble is usually a fox, not a bird.

What is the most common garden bird in the UK?

House Sparrow. It topped the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch again in 2026, ahead of Blue Tit and Starling.