World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/stoat): Stoat — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The stoat (Mustela erminea) is a small mustelid of Eurasia and North America that turns white in winter except for a black-tipped tail, hunts prey far larger than itself including rabbits, and was introduced to New Zealand where it is now a major invasive predator.

## Introduction
The stoat is a small carnivore of the weasel family found across Eurasia and North America — roughly the length of a ruler, with a black-tipped tail that distinguishes it from the closely related least weasel. In summer its coat is brown with a cream belly; in winter, across much of its range, it turns white except for that tail tip. The white pelt, known as ermine, was used to trim royal and ceremonial robes for centuries.

Stoats are formidable hunters for their size. They kill rabbits many times their own weight, using a bite to the back of the skull, and cache surplus kills for later. They are largely solitary, territorial, and active day and night. In New Zealand, where they were introduced for rabbit control, they have become one of the most damaging invasive predators of native birds.

The stoat's conservation story is split by geography. In its native range across Eurasia and North America, it is Least Concern — widespread, adaptable and abundant. In New Zealand, it is an ecological catastrophe, preying on flightless birds, seabird colonies and reptiles that evolved without mammalian predators. The same animal, two completely different ecological roles.

## Takeaway
Stoats are small mustelids found across Eurasia and North America, turning white in winter except for a black-tipped tail.

## Takeaway
The white winter pelt is called ermine and was historically used to trim royal and ceremonial robes.

## Takeaway
They kill prey far larger than themselves, including rabbits, using a precise bite to the back of the skull.

## Takeaway
They are largely solitary and territorial, active by day and night across varied habitats.

## Takeaway
In New Zealand, introduced stoats are among the most damaging invasive predators of native birds.

## Takeaway
Least Concern globally, but an serious ecological threat where introduced outside their native range.

## Ermine — the coat that trimmed crowns
The stoat's winter transformation is one of the most familiar colour changes in temperate mammals. Triggered by shortening day length rather than temperature directly, the brown summer coat is replaced by white fur across most of the range — though southern populations and those in Ireland may remain brown year-round, and individuals at low elevation in mild climates may moult partially or not at all.

The black tail tip persists in all morphs. It may function as a decoy: a predator striking at the conspicuous tail tip may miss the stoat's body, allowing escape. The white pelt, called ermine, became a symbol of purity and authority in medieval European heraldry. English royal robes were traditionally trimmed with ermine, and the white fur with its scattered black tail-tip spots became a visual shorthand for nobility across European courts.

Ermine fur remains commercially traded, though most now comes from farmed or wild stoats and weasels in regions where the species is abundant. The cultural association between ermine and authority persists in heraldry, academic dress and judicial robes across much of Europe. The stoat's winter coat is one of the few examples where an animal's seasonal biology became embedded in human ceremonial tradition.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/stoat): Stoat — wildlife guide.

## Killing above its weight
A stoat weighing 200–400 g routinely kills European rabbits weighing 2–3 kg — ten times its mass or more. The technique is a fast rush, a leap onto the back, and a bite through the skull. Stoats do not throttle prey; they kill with precision and speed, and the entire encounter may last only seconds.

Surplus kills are cached in burrows or under cover for later consumption — a behaviour that reflects the unpredictability of hunting success. Stoats also take rodents, birds, eggs, frogs and insects, and will climb trees to reach nests. Their slender body allows entry into burrows and crevices too small for most predators, giving them access to prey that larger carnivores cannot reach.

Stoats are largely solitary and territorial, maintaining home ranges that overlap minimally between same-sex individuals. Males range more widely than females, particularly during the breeding season when they search for mates. A female stoat mates in summer but delays implantation — the fertilised egg does not develop until the following spring, ensuring that kits are born when prey is abundant. This delayed implantation is unusual among carnivores and allows stoats to time reproduction precisely to prey cycles.

## The New Zealand catastrophe
Stoats were introduced to New Zealand in the late nineteenth century, along with weasels and ferrets, in an attempt to control introduced rabbits. The rabbit control failed — rabbits remain abundant — and the stoats thrived in an ecosystem with no native mammalian predators and abundant naive prey.

New Zealand's native birds evolved without mammalian predators. Many are ground-nesting or cavity-nesting, flightless or poor fliers, and utterly vulnerable to a fast, burrow-capable carnivore. Stoats now prey on kiwi, kākā, yellowhead, kererū and dozens of other native species across forest, tussock and alpine habitat. They are widely regarded as the most damaging invasive predator in New Zealand and are the target of extensive trapping programmes across conservation land.

The scale of the problem is enormous. Stoats occur across both main islands and many offshore islands, and eradication from the mainland is considered impractical. Conservation effort focuses on predator-free fenced sanctuaries, offshore islands cleared of stoats, and landscape-scale trapping in areas where critical species persist. The stoat in New Zealand is a permanent, managed threat — not a problem that will resolve on its own, and one that costs millions annually to contain.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/stoat): Stoat — wildlife guide.

## Least Concern — but not harmless
In its native range across Eurasia and North America, the stoat is Least Concern: widespread, adaptable and abundant in suitable habitat. It occupies tundra, moorland, farmland, woodland edge and mountain scrub, feeding on whatever small prey is available. Population cycles track those of voles and rabbits — stoats boom when prey booms and crash when prey crashes. A good vole year can produce a stoat population surge the following spring.

The conservation story is therefore split by geography. In Europe and North America, stoats are a normal component of ecosystems — a predator of rodents and rabbits that also takes eggs and birds, but within a system that evolved alongside them. In Britain, stoats are widespread in moorland, hedgerow and woodland edge, and their winter ermine coat remains one of the most familiar seasonal colour changes in temperate mammals.

The stoat illustrates a broader principle: a Least Concern listing in a native range says nothing about the damage the same animal can do when moved elsewhere. Invasive stoats, ferrets and weasels are a global problem — introduced to New Zealand, introduced to some Mediterranean islands, and present as feral populations in several countries. The species is common; the ecological harm it can cause is not. Every introduction of a small mustelid for pest control should be viewed through the New Zealand lens: the control often fails, and the predator stays forever.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education including the invasive-species stories that complicate simple status labels. The stoat is Least Concern in Eurasia and a conservation emergency in New Zealand — the same animal, two completely different ecological roles.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/stoat): Stoat — wildlife guide.

## What is the difference between a stoat and an ermine?
They are the same animal. 'Ermine' is the name for the stoat's white winter coat, which was prized as fur for trimming royal robes. In summer the coat is brown; in winter it turns white except for the black tail tip.

## Why does the stoat's tail tip stay black in winter?
The black tip persists when the rest of the coat turns white. It may function as a decoy — a predator lunging at the conspicuous tail tip may miss the stoat's body. It also distinguishes stoats from the smaller least weasel.

## How can a stoat kill a rabbit?
With speed and precision. A stoat rushes, leaps onto the rabbit's back, and delivers a bite through the skull. Rabbits may weigh ten times what a stoat does. Surplus kills are cached for later.

## Are stoats a problem in New Zealand?
Yes — one of the most serious. Introduced in the late nineteenth century for rabbit control, stoats now prey heavily on native birds that evolved without mammalian predators. They are a primary target of conservation trapping programmes.

## What do stoat / ermine / short-tailed weasels eat?
Stoat / Ermine / Short-tailed Weasels eat 10× — Can kill prey many times its own body weight. The stoat (Mustela erminea) is a small mustelid of Eurasia and North America that turns white in winter except for a black-tipped tail, hunts prey far larger than itself including rabbits, and was introduced to New Zealand where it is now a major invasive predator.

## Where do stoat / ermine / short-tailed weasels live?
Stoat / Ermine / Short-tailed Weasels live in Eurasia and North America; invasive in New Zealand. The stoat (Mustela erminea) is a small mustelid of Eurasia and North America that turns white in winter except for a black-tipped tail, hunts prey far larger than itself including rabbits, and was introduced to New Zealand where it is now a major invasive predator.

## Are stoat / ermine / short-tailed weasels dangerous?
The stoat is a small carnivore of the weasel family found across Eurasia and North America — roughly the length of a ruler, with a black-tipped tail that distinguishes it from the closely related least weasel. They are diurnal and nocturnal; largely solitary. Give wild stoat / ermine / short-tailed weasels space; do not corner or handle them.

## How long do stoat / ermine / short-tailed weasels live?
A precise wild lifespan for stoat / ermine / short-tailed weasels is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. The stoat (Mustela erminea) is a small mustelid of Eurasia and North America that turns white in winter except for a black-tipped tail, hunts prey far larger than itself including rabbits, and was introduced to New Zealand where it is now a major invasive predator. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

## How big is a stoat / ermine / short-tailed weasel?
A Stoat / Ermine / Short-tailed Weasel is about 17–33 cm body; tail 6–12 cm. The stoat (Mustela erminea) is a small mustelid of Eurasia and North America that turns white in winter except for a black-tipped tail, hunts prey far larger than itself including rabbits, and was introduced to New Zealand where it is now a major invasive predator.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/naked-mole-rat): Naked Mole-Rat — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) is a eusocial East African rodent that lives in insect-like colonies with a breeding queen, tolerates extreme hypoxia and carbon dioxide, shows negligible ageing, resists cancer, and lacks normal acid pain sensation.

## Introduction
The naked mole-rat is one of the strangest mammals alive: a hairless, wrinkled rodent of East African semi-arid savanna that lives underground in colonies structured like an insect society. A single breeding queen, a handful of breeding males, and dozens of sterile workers cooperate in a tunnel system that can extend for kilometres. It is the mammal most closely approaching eusociality — the reproductive division of labour seen in ants and termites.

Its biology is equally unusual. Naked mole-rats are effectively cold-blooded at rest, regulating body temperature through behaviour rather than metabolism. They tolerate extreme hypoxia in sealed burrows. They show negligible senescence — barely ageing in the normal mammalian sense — and resist cancer through a unique cell mechanism. They do not feel certain types of pain, including acid pain, which allows them to tolerate the carbon dioxide that builds up in crowded burrows.

Naked mole-rats have become a major biomedical research model precisely because they break so many mammalian rules. Their cancer resistance, extreme longevity, hypoxia tolerance and pain insensitivity each address major medical questions — and their Least Concern conservation status belies how extraordinary the underlying biology is.

## Takeaway
Naked mole-rats are eusocial mammals — colonies have a breeding queen, a few males and many sterile workers, like an ant nest.

## Takeaway
They are essentially cold-blooded at rest, regulating temperature through behaviour rather than internal metabolism.

## Takeaway
They tolerate extreme hypoxia and high carbon dioxide in sealed underground burrows.

## Takeaway
They show negligible senescence and resist cancer through a unique cell-death mechanism involving hyaluronan.

## Takeaway
They cannot feel pain from acid or capsaicin, which may help them tolerate CO₂ in crowded tunnels.

## Takeaway
Lifespans exceed thirty years in captivity — extraordinary for a rodent of this size.

## Takeaway
Least Concern, but habitat disturbance and agricultural expansion affect local colonies.

## A mammal that lives like an ant
Naked mole-rat colonies contain a single breeding queen, one to three breeding males, and dozens to hundreds of sterile workers of both sexes. The queen is the only female that reproduces; she suppresses ovulation in other females through social dominance, physical contact and pheromonal cues delivered in the colony's shared toilet chamber.

Workers dig tunnels, forage for tubers, defend the colony and care for pups — without ever breeding themselves. This reproductive division of labour is eusociality, a social system previously known only in insects. Naked mole-rats are the most eusocial mammal, though Damaraland mole-rats show a similar system. Colonies can contain over 300 individuals in tunnel systems that extend for kilometres beneath East African savanna.

The tunnels are dug through hard, compacted soil using enormous incisors — a quarter of the animal's muscle mass is devoted to jaw muscles. Naked mole-rats can dig backwards as easily as forwards, shovelling excavated soil above ground with their heads. The colony's tunnel system is a permanent, expanding structure that may be occupied for many years, with new tunnels added as the colony grows and old sections abandoned as food in the area is exhausted. A single large tuber can sustain a colony for months.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/naked-mole-rat): Naked Mole-Rat — wildlife guide.

## Cold-blooded, hypoxia-proof and long-lived
Naked mole-rats do not thermoregulate like normal mammals. At rest, their body temperature tracks the ambient temperature of the burrow — they are effectively poikilothermic, behaving more like a reptile than a rodent. They move to warmer or cooler tunnel sections to adjust, and huddle together when the burrow temperature drops. A colony huddled in a deep tunnel can maintain a workable temperature even when surface air falls sharply overnight in the savanna.

Their burrows are sealed environments where oxygen runs low and carbon dioxide accumulates. Naked mole-rats tolerate conditions that would kill most mammals: they can survive for minutes with almost no oxygen by switching to fructose-based metabolism, a pathway normally used by plants. Their lifespan exceeds thirty years in captivity — roughly ten times what a mouse of similar size would achieve — and they show negligible senescence, maintaining health, fertility and activity deep into old age.

The combination of hypoxia tolerance, negligible ageing and cancer resistance makes naked mole-rats the subject of intense biomedical research. Each trait addresses a major medical question — stroke treatment, ageing biology, oncology — and the fact that all three occur in one small rodent is what makes the species scientifically extraordinary rather than merely unusual.

## Cancer resistance and pain that is not there
Naked mole-rats almost never develop cancer. The mechanism involves high-molecular-weight hyaluronan, a substance in the extracellular matrix that triggers early contact inhibition — cells stop dividing when they touch neighbours, preventing the uncontrolled growth that becomes a tumour. When researchers suppressed hyaluronan production, naked mole-rat cells became cancer-prone, confirming the link.

They also lack normal acid pain sensation. Naked mole-rat nociceptors do not respond to acid or capsaicin — the compound that makes chilli peppers hot. This may be an adaptation to crowded burrows where carbon dioxide dissolves into tissue acid, which would cause constant pain in a normal mammal. The absence of acid pain is not a deficit but a feature of life in sealed tunnels where CO₂ levels can reach levels that would distress most animals.

These traits are not independent. The same hyaluronan that prevents cancer also contributes to skin elasticity and wound healing in the tight tunnels. The metabolic adaptations for hypoxia tolerance may interact with the ageing mechanisms that produce negligible senescence. Naked mole-rat biology is a package, not a collection of separate tricks — which is why the species has become one of the most intensively studied rodents in biomedical research worldwide.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/naked-mole-rat): Naked Mole-Rat — wildlife guide.

## Why scientists study them obsessively
Naked mole-rats are a biomedical research model precisely because they break mammalian rules. Their cancer resistance, extreme longevity, hypoxia tolerance and pain insensitivity each address major medical questions. Understanding how their hyaluronan prevents tumour formation may inform human cancer therapy. Their fructose metabolism under hypoxia could inform stroke and heart attack treatment. Their negligible senescence challenges fundamental assumptions about mammalian ageing.

In the wild, they are Least Concern — colonies are common in suitable East African savanna across Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. Local threats include agricultural expansion, soil disturbance from ploughing and tuber harvesting that removes their primary food source. When farmers dig up the large underground tubers that naked mole-rats depend on, entire colony tunnel systems can lose their food base.

Captive colonies in research institutions worldwide maintain breeding populations for study, and the species breeds reliably in captivity — unlike many wild mammals that fail to reproduce under laboratory conditions. The naked mole-rat's combination of biological extremity and captive tractability makes it an ideal research subject. What is learned from them about ageing, cancer and hypoxia tolerance has direct relevance to human medicine — which is why a Least Concern rodent of East African savanna receives more laboratory attention than many Endangered mammals.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education for animals whose biology challenges assumptions. The naked mole-rat is Least Concern and scientifically extraordinary — a combination that makes it worth covering because understanding unusual species broadens how people think about mammals altogether.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/naked-mole-rat): Naked Mole-Rat — wildlife guide.

## Are naked mole-rats really naked?
Mostly. They have almost no hair — a few sensory bristles on the body and hairs between the toes. Their pink, wrinkled skin is thin enough to see blood vessels through, which is why they look 'naked'.

## Are naked mole-rats eusocial?
Yes — the most eusocial mammal known. Colonies have a single breeding queen, one to three breeding males, and many sterile workers that dig, forage and defend without reproducing, similar to an ant or termite colony.

## Why do naked mole-rats live so long?
They show negligible senescence — barely ageing in the normal mammalian sense — and resist cancer through a unique mechanism involving high-molecular-weight hyaluronan. Captive lifespans exceed thirty years, roughly ten times what a similar-sized mouse would achieve.

## Can naked mole-rats feel pain?
They feel some pain but not acid pain or capsaicin pain. Their nociceptors do not respond to acid, which may help them tolerate the carbon dioxide that dissolves into tissue acid in their sealed, crowded burrows.

## Where do naked mole-rats live?
In underground colonies in the semi-arid savanna and grassland of East Africa — Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. They dig extensive tunnel systems and feed on large underground tubers.

## What do naked mole-rat / sand puppies eat?
The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) is a eusocial East African rodent that lives in insect-like colonies with a breeding queen, tolerates extreme hypoxia and carbon dioxide, shows negligible ageing, resists cancer, and lacks normal acid pain sensation. The guide's ecology sections give the prey or forage detail behind that summary.

## Are naked mole-rat / sand puppies dangerous?
Naked Mole-Rat / Sand Puppies are not generally dangerous to people. The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) is a eusocial East African rodent that lives in insect-like colonies with a breeding queen, tolerates extreme hypoxia and carbon dioxide, shows negligible ageing, resists cancer, and lacks normal acid pain sensation. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

## How long do naked mole-rat / sand puppies live?
Naked Mole-Rat / Sand Puppies typically live 30+ years in captivity. The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) is a eusocial East African rodent that lives in insect-like colonies with a breeding queen, tolerates extreme hypoxia and carbon dioxide, shows negligible ageing, resists cancer, and lacks normal acid pain sensation. Wild and captive figures can differ; use the sources listed on the guide for the underlying studies.

## How big is a naked mole-rat / sand puppy?
A Naked Mole-Rat / Sand Puppy is about 8–10 cm body. The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) is a eusocial East African rodent that lives in insect-like colonies with a breeding queen, tolerates extreme hypoxia and carbon dioxide, shows negligible ageing, resists cancer, and lacks normal acid pain sensation.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/bushbaby): Bushbaby — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
Bushbabies (family Galagidae) are small nocturnal primates of sub-Saharan Africa; the Senegal bushbaby (Galago senegalensis) weighs under 300 g, has eyes roughly the size of its brain, and can leap six metres between branches.

## Introduction
Bushbabies — also called galagos — are small nocturnal primates of sub-Saharan Africa, named for the child-like cries that carry through woodland at night. The best-known species, the Senegal bushbaby, weighs less than 300 g but possesses enormous eyes — each eye is roughly the same size as its brain — and hind legs powerful enough to leap six metres between branches.

Around twenty species exist across the family Galagidae, ranging from the tiny Rondo dwarf galago to the cat-sized brown greater galago. They are strictly nocturnal, feeding on insects, gum, fruit and small vertebrates, and they occupy a primate niche that lemurs and lorises occupy elsewhere. Most are Least Concern, though several less-known species are threatened by forest loss and fragmentation.

Bushbabies are among the oldest lineages of primates — strepsirrhines, the branch that diverged from the monkey and ape line over fifty million years ago. Their combination of enormous night-vision eyes, powerful leaping legs and loud territorial calls makes them one of the most distinctive sounds of African woodland after dark, even if the animals themselves are rarely seen by day.

## Takeaway
Bushbabies, or galagos, are small nocturnal primates of sub-Saharan Africa in the family Galagidae.

## Takeaway
The Senegal bushbaby weighs under 300 g but can leap six metres between branches using powerful hind legs.

## Takeaway
Their enormous eyes — each roughly the size of their brain — are adaptations for night vision.

## Takeaway
They feed on insects, tree gum, fruit and small vertebrates, and are strictly nocturnal.

## Takeaway
Around twenty species exist; most are Least Concern but several lesser-known species face forest loss.

## Takeaway
Their loud, child-like calls at night are the origin of the name 'bushbaby'.

## Takeaway
They occupy the same ecological niche as lorises and some lemurs — small nocturnal primate insectivores.

## Eyes built for darkness
Bushbaby eyes dominate the face — large, round and forward-facing, with a tapetum lucidum behind the retina that reflects light back through the photoreceptors, doubling sensitivity in low light. Each eye is roughly the same volume as the animal's brain, which is not a coincidence: vision is the primary sense, and the neural investment follows.

Their ears are independently mobile and large, capable of pinpointing insect prey by sound alone. Combined with hypersensitive whiskers and a keen sense of smell, bushbabies navigate and hunt in near-total darkness. They are among the most thoroughly nocturnal of all primates, emerging after sunset and retreating to tree hollows or dense vegetation before dawn.

The tapetum lucidum produces the eyeshine visible when light catches a bushbaby at night — a green or orange glow that is the same mechanism producing eyeshine in cats, dogs and other nocturnal mammals. In bushbabies, the effect is particularly striking because the eyes are so large relative to the head. The visual system processes motion and depth in conditions where a diurnal primate would be effectively blind, which is why bushbabies can leap six metres between branches in near-total darkness without hesitation.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/bushbaby): Bushbaby — wildlife guide.

## Leaps that cover six metres
Bushbaby hind legs are disproportionately long and muscular — roughly twice the length of the forelimbs — and adapted for vertical clinging and leaping, a locomotion style called saltation. A Senegal bushbaby can leap six metres between branches, using its tail for balance and its hands to grab on landing.

The power-to-weight ratio is extraordinary for a mammal. Elastic energy stored in tendons during crouch contributes to launch, and the landing is cushioned by flexible ankles and grasping hands with moist pads that grip bark. This is not an animal that walks between trees — it launches, and the forest it inhabits must have sufficient branch spacing and connectivity to make those launches possible.

When moving on the ground or along branches, bushbabies use a hopping gait — both hind feet together, then the forelimbs — that is distinctive and efficient for an animal of this size. Their locomotion is adapted for fine-branch niche: the outer twigs and small branches where larger primates cannot follow, and where insect prey is abundant but hard for heavier animals to reach. Loss of woodland connectivity breaks this locomotion entirely — a bushbaby cannot cross open ground between isolated tree patches.

## A family of around twenty species
Galagidae contains around twenty species across sub-Saharan Africa, from the tiny Rondo dwarf galago — one of the smallest primates — to the brown greater galago, which weighs over a kilogram. Senegal bushbaby is among the best-known, ranging across West and East African savanna woodland from Senegal to Kenya.

Most galago species are Least Concern, but several lesser-known species with restricted ranges are threatened. The Rondo dwarf galago of Tanzania is Critically Endangered, confined to a few coastal forest fragments totalling less than a hundred square kilometres. Forest loss across East Africa affects species that depend on connected woodland canopy for their leaping locomotion — a gap in the trees is not an inconvenience but a barrier that can isolate populations permanently.

Taxonomy of the family has been revised repeatedly as genetic studies reveal hidden diversity. Several species previously considered subspecies of the Senegal bushbaby are now recognised as separate species, each with a narrower range and potentially greater conservation concern than the Least Concern listing of the best-known species implies. The bushbaby family is likely more diverse, and more locally threatened, than the familiar Least Concern label for *Galago senegalensis* suggests.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/bushbaby): Bushbaby — wildlife guide.

## Gum, insects and the night economy
Bushbabies are dietary generalists of the night forest. Insects — grasshoppers, moths, beetles — are the primary protein source, caught by hand or pounced on from branches. Tree gum, oozing from Acacia and other species, provides carbohydrate and is accessed by scraping with specialised incisors that are shaped like a fine-toothed comb. Gum feeding can occupy much of a foraging night during dry seasons in the savanna.

Fruit and small vertebrates supplement the diet seasonally. Gum-feeding is particularly important in dry seasons when insects are scarce — bushbabies return to the same gum-producing trees repeatedly, and the ability to exploit this resource may be one reason they persist in savanna woodland where fruit availability is seasonal. A bushbaby that finds a reliable gum tree will defend access to it within its territory.

Their loud vocalisations — cries, croaks and chattering that sound startlingly like a human infant — serve territorial and social functions. Pairs or small family groups occupy overlapping home ranges, and the calls that give bushbabies their name advertise presence to rivals and mates across the dark woodland. A bushbaby calling at night is claiming space, not expressing distress — though the sound reliably startles people hearing it for the first time. In many African communities, the call is a familiar part of the soundscape; in Western popular culture, it is often misidentified as an owl or an unknown animal crying in distress.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education for nocturnal species that most people hear but never see. Bushbabies are common in African woodland but poorly known outside their range — the kind of animal where free accurate information helps people understand a continent's biodiversity beyond the flagship species.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/bushbaby): Bushbaby — wildlife guide.

## Why are they called bushbabies?
Because of their loud, child-like cries that carry through woodland at night. The calls serve territorial and social functions and can sound startlingly like a human infant — which is the origin of both 'bushbaby' and 'galago'.

## How far can a bushbaby leap?
Up to six metres between branches. Their hind legs are roughly twice the length of their forelimbs and are adapted for vertical clinging and leaping — they launch rather than walk between trees.

## Why do bushbabies have such big eyes?
They are strictly nocturnal, and vision is their primary sense. Each eye is roughly the size of their brain, and a tapetum lucidum behind the retina reflects light back through photoreceptors, doubling sensitivity in low light.

## Are bushbabies monkeys?
They are primates but not monkeys. Bushbabies belong to the suborder Strepsirrhini — the same branch as lemurs and lorises — rather than the monkey and ape branch (Haplorhini). They are more closely related to lorises than to any monkey.

## What do bushbabies eat?
Mainly insects, supplemented with tree gum scraped from Acacia and other species, fruit and small vertebrates. They are nocturnal foragers, catching insects by hand or pouncing from branches.

## Where do bushbabies live?
Bushbabies range across sub-Saharan Africa in savanna woodland and forest edge. The Senegal bushbaby — weighing 200–300 g — ranges from Senegal to Kenya, leaping up to six metres between branches in connected woodland canopy.

## Are bushbabies dangerous?
Bushbabies are not dangerous to people. These strictly nocturnal primates are shy tree-dwellers that feed on insects, tree gum and fruit, and their loud child-like cries at night are territorial calls rather than signs of aggression toward humans.

## How big is a bushbaby?
The Senegal bushbaby weighs 200–300 g — less than 300 g despite eyes roughly the size of its brain. Around twenty species exist in family Galagidae, from tiny dwarf galagos to the cat-sized brown greater galago weighing over a kilogram.

## How long do bushbaby / galago / lesser galagos live?
A precise wild lifespan for bushbaby / galago / lesser galagos is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. Bushbabies (family Galagidae) are small nocturnal primates of sub-Saharan Africa; the Senegal bushbaby (Galago senegalensis) weighs under 300 g, has eyes roughly the size of its brain, and can leap six metres between branches. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/swallow): Swallow — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a long-distance migrant that breeds across the Northern Hemisphere and winters in Africa, South Asia or South America; in Britain it nests in mud cups under eaves and barns and feeds entirely on flying insects caught in agile aerial pursuit.

## Introduction
The barn swallow is the swallow most people in Britain mean when they say 'swallow'. Glossy blue above, brick-red below, with a deeply forked tail that makes it unmistakable in flight, it arrives from Africa in April and spends the summer hawking insects over fields, ponds and village streets.

Its nest is a cup of mud pellets lined with feathers, built under eaves, in barns, sheds and sometimes inside open garages. That dependence on human structures is ancient — swallows followed livestock and settlement long before modern farming — and it is why a swallow choosing your outbuilding feels personal. When the last bird leaves in autumn, the silence marks the turn of the season as clearly as any calendar.

Swallows are among the most aerial of all birds. They drink, bathe and feed entirely on the wing, and their migration between Britain and sub-Saharan Africa is one of the longest of any songbird — a round trip that can exceed 10,000 km. Long-term monitoring shows declining numbers across much of Europe, linked to falling insect abundance and the loss of nest sites as traditional farm buildings are converted or sealed.

## Takeaway
Barn swallows are long-distance migrants — British birds winter in sub-Saharan Africa and return in April.

## Takeaway
They build mud-cup nests under eaves, in barns and sheds, and often reuse the same site for years.

## Takeaway
Both parents feed chicks on flying insects caught in continuous aerial hawking.

## Takeaway
Declines in Britain track loss of livestock farming, wet meadows and the flying insects swallows depend on.

## Takeaway
Leave barn doors and outbuildings accessible through summer; disturbing an active nest is illegal.

## Takeaway
Domestic cats kill grounded swallows — fledglings learning to fly are especially vulnerable near gardens.

## Takeaway
Large clean windows and glass doors can kill swallows at speed when reflections show open sky.

## A bird built for catching insects on the wing
Swallows feed almost exclusively in flight. They sweep low over water, pasture and village streets, taking flies, midges, aphids and other small insects with a wide gape and precise manoeuvring. The deeply forked tail and long wings give the tight turns and sudden accelerations that hawking demands — a swallow can change direction in a fraction of a second, following prey that no ground-based predator could catch.

Chicks are fed the same diet — no seeds, no kitchen scraps. A pair may raise two broods in a good British summer, each clutch of four or five eggs demanding thousands of insect trips. When invertebrate numbers fall — through pesticide use, drainage of wet meadows or simplification of pasture — swallow breeding success drops directly. The bird at the apex of the aerial insect food chain is an early indicator that flying insects are disappearing from a landscape.

Swallows also drink and bathe on the wing, skimming pond surfaces and splashing through shallow water without landing. This complete aerial lifestyle means they are almost never seen on the ground except when collecting mud for nest-building or when fledglings are learning to fly. A swallow on the ground is a swallow that needs help or is gathering nest material.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/swallow): Swallow — wildlife guide.

## Mud nests and the buildings they need
A swallow nest begins as a mud pellet carried in the bill and pressed against a beam or rafter under shelter. Layer by layer the cup forms; feathers line the inside. The site must stay dry and accessible — old barns, open stables, porches and the undersides of bridges are classic choices. Both sexes build, though the female does most of the lining.

In modern Britain, sealed agricultural buildings and converted barns remove nest sites faster than swallows find alternatives. Leaving a door ajar through the breeding season, or fixing a shallow shelf under a protected eave, can mean the difference between a pair nesting and passing over. Active nests are protected by law in the UK; wait until birds have left in autumn before closing access or renovating.

Swallows often return to the same nest or building year after year. A pair that nested in your shed last summer is quite likely to try again — which is why small, low-cost access decisions on outbuildings matter disproportionately. Providing a muddy puddle or damp patch near a potential nest site helps pairs that would otherwise travel further to find building material.

## Migration and what happens in your garden
British swallows winter mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, crossing the Sahara in both directions. The journey is hazardous — drought, habitat loss on the wintering grounds and hunting in some Mediterranean countries all take a toll — but the timing of return is remarkably consistent, with first birds appearing in southern England from mid-April.

In gardens, swallows are more visitor than resident. They drink from ponds, skim over lawns taking insects and sometimes perch on wires or fences. They do not visit seed feeders. Fledglings leaving the nest for the first time fly weakly and rest on the ground or low walls — the moment when domestic cats cause serious losses. Keeping cats indoors at dawn and dusk during the breeding season, and delaying lawn mowing near active nests, are practical steps anyone with swallows nearby can take.

Autumn departure is protracted — birds gather on wires and rooftops in September before moving south in stages. The last birds leave Britain in October. Their absence through winter is total; no swallow overwinters in Britain. The first returning bird in April is a genuine seasonal marker, and its timing varies by only a few days in most years.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/swallow): Swallow — wildlife guide.

## Windows, cats and the wider decline
Swallows occasionally strike large windows and glass doors, especially when a reflection shows sky or open passage through a courtyard. Decals, external screens or partial shading break up the illusion and reduce collisions. Swallows fly fast and low, which makes glass particularly dangerous when it reflects open sky or vegetation behind the viewer. Conservatory extensions and bi-fold doors have added new collision surfaces to suburban gardens that swallows traverse daily between nest sites and feeding grounds.

Cat predation hits swallows at two points: adults and fledglings caught on the ground or low perches, and chicks taken from accessible nests in open outbuildings. A single cat can devastate a local colony over several seasons. Bells on collars reduce but do not eliminate kills. Swallows nesting in open-sided barns offer no defence against a cat that learns the beam location.

Population monitoring shows long-term declines in Britain and much of Europe, linked to agricultural intensification, loss of livestock rearing and falling invertebrate abundance. Wetland drainage removes the midges and aquatic insects that swallows hawking over pasture depend on, while the switch from hay to silage cuts flowering margins that support flying invertebrates through summer. The species remains Least Concern globally because of its enormous range, but the swallow's retreat from everyday rural life is one of the clearest signals that insect-rich farmland is thinning out — and that the buildings and pasture it depended on are changing faster than the bird can adapt.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education for the birds people live beside, not only distant flagship species. The barn swallow is a summer neighbour whose survival depends on mud, flying insects and a barn door left open — everyday conditions that free public education can help people protect.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/swallow): Swallow — wildlife guide.

## When do swallows arrive in the UK?
Most barn swallows return to Britain from mid-April onwards, with timing varying by latitude — Scotland a week or two later than southern England. They leave again from September into October, heading to sub-Saharan Africa for the winter.

## What do swallows eat?
Flying insects caught on the wing — flies, midges, aphids, beetles and similar small invertebrates. Swallows do not eat seed and will not visit standard garden feeders. Chick food is insects only.

## Can I feed swallows?
Not in the way you feed finches or tits. Swallows need aerial insects over pasture, water and rough grassland. Supporting them means maintaining insect-rich habitat — avoiding unnecessary pesticides, keeping wet meadows and leaving rough margins — rather than offering food at a feeder.

## Is it illegal to remove a swallow nest?
In the UK, active nests of most wild birds, including swallows, are protected while in use or being built. Wait until the birds have finished breeding in autumn before blocking access or renovating. Deliberately destroying an active nest can be an offence.

## Why are swallows declining in Britain?
Long-term monitoring shows decreases linked to agricultural intensification, loss of livestock farming and wet grassland, falling flying-insect numbers and loss of nest sites as barns are converted or sealed. Migration hazards and drought on African wintering grounds add pressure.

## Where do barn swallows live?
Barn Swallows live in Breeds across Europe, Asia and North America, Winters in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and South America. The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a long-distance migrant that breeds across the Northern Hemisphere and winters in Africa, South Asia or South America; in Britain it nests in mud cups under eaves and barns and feeds entirely on flying insects caught in agile aerial pursuit.

## Are barn swallows dangerous?
Barn Swallows are domesticated animals and are not dangerous to people in the wild-predator sense. The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a long-distance migrant that breeds across the Northern Hemisphere and winters in Africa, South Asia or South America; in Britain it nests in mud cups under eaves and barns and feeds entirely on flying insects caught in agile aerial pursuit. Usual risks are husbandry and handling, not unprovoked attacks.

## How long do barn swallows live?
A precise wild lifespan for barn swallows is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a long-distance migrant that breeds across the Northern Hemisphere and winters in Africa, South Asia or South America; in Britain it nests in mud cups under eaves and barns and feeds entirely on flying insects caught in agile aerial pursuit. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

## How big is a barn swallow?
A Barn Swallow is about 17–19 cm including tail streamers. The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is a long-distance migrant that breeds across the Northern Hemisphere and winters in Africa, South Asia or South America; in Britain it nests in mud cups under eaves and barns and feeds entirely on flying insects caught in agile aerial pursuit. Conservation status: Insect loss, nest-site loss, migration hazards, cat predation.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/blackbird): Blackbird — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula) is a common British garden thrush; males are black with an orange bill, females are brown, and pairs nest in hedges and shrubs while feeding on worms, insects and berries — with domestic cats among the main causes of nest failure.

## Introduction
The Eurasian blackbird is one of the most familiar garden birds in Britain. Males are glossy black with a bright orange-yellow bill and eye-ring; females are warm brown with a streaked breast. The song — fluting, unhurried, repeated from a rooftop or TV aerial before sunrise — is for many people the sound of a suburban morning.

Blackbirds nest in hedges, climbers, shrubs and nest boxes with open fronts, raising two or three broods through spring and summer. They forage on lawns for worms and insects, and in autumn take berries from hawthorn, ivy and rowan. That combination of visibility, voice and garden presence makes them the thrush most people know by name — and the species most exposed to domestic cats at the nest.

Blackbirds are sedentary in Britain — most do not migrate — and pairs often hold the same garden territory year after year. The male you hear singing from your chimney pot in March may be the same bird that nested in your hedge last summer. That familiarity makes their decline in gardens where cats, glass and insect-poor lawns combine especially noticeable to the people who watch them daily.

## Takeaway
Male blackbirds are glossy black with an orange bill; females are brown — both are the same species.

## Takeaway
They nest in hedges, dense shrubs and open-fronted nest boxes, often raising two or three broods.

## Takeaway
Domestic cats are a major cause of nest failure and fledgling mortality in suburban gardens.

## Takeaway
Blackbirds listen for worm activity on lawns and hunt by sight and hearing on short grass.

## Takeaway
Offering mealworms and fruit helps through cold snaps; avoid bread and salty scraps.

## Takeaway
Large windows kill blackbirds when reflections show vegetation or open space.

## Takeaway
The fluted dawn song is territorial — a male claiming your street, not a random melody.

## Life on a British lawn
Blackbirds are ground feeders. On a short lawn they hop, pause, tilt their head to listen for worm movement beneath the surface, then pull prey from the soil. The head-tilt is not affectation — it helps one ear locate prey by sound before the bird strikes. In dry weather they switch to insects, snails and fallen fruit; in autumn berry crops — ivy, hawthorn, cotoneaster — dominate, and a single blackbird can strip a cotoneaster bush over several days.

Garden feeding can supplement natural food, especially in cold or dry spells. Mealworms, suet crumbles and halved apples on a ground tray or low table attract blackbirds that might otherwise struggle. Bread and salty leftovers do more harm than good. A shallow dish of fresh water matters as much as food in summer, when blackbirds bathe vigorously and need to drink several times daily during hot weather.

Because they feed on the ground, blackbirds are exposed to cats throughout the day. A bell on a collar reduces but does not eliminate kills. Keeping cats indoors at dawn and dusk — when blackbirds feed most actively — measurably reduces predation in gardens where this has been studied. A lawn treated with pesticides supports fewer worms and fewer blackbirds; the connection between tidy, chemical-dependent gardening and absent blackbirds is direct. Leaving a corner of lawn longer through summer increases beetle and moth larvae that blackbirds take to chicks.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/blackbird): Blackbird — wildlife guide.

## Nesting in hedges — and what cats do to it
A blackbird nest is a cup of grass, mud and fine roots, lined with finer grass, built in a hedge, climber or shrub between about one and three metres above ground. Open-fronted nest boxes fixed to a wall or fence in dense cover give an alternative where natural sites are scarce. Blackbirds often nest in privet, laurel and ivy-covered walls — the same structures that give cats a climbing route to the nest.

Nest failure in suburban Britain is dominated by predation, and domestic cats head the list — ahead of magpies, squirrels and corvids in many garden studies. Cats take eggs, chicks and fledglings on the ground. A cat that learns where a nest sits can return repeatedly, sometimes taking an entire brood over successive nights. Magpie and jay predation is real but tends to be more opportunistic than the systematic hunting of a cat that patrols the same garden daily.

Practical defences include keeping cats in at night during the breeding season, placing nest boxes where cats cannot sit directly below, and planting dense thorny shrubs that give cover without offering a cat a clear platform. Pyracantha, hawthorn and berberis provide nesting cover with thorns that deter cats more effectively than smooth-leaved laurel. None of this eliminates risk, but combined measures reduce it enough to matter at neighbourhood scale. A single cat-free garden in a cat-dense street can become a blackbird stronghold simply because nesting success is higher there.

## Song, territory and the dawn chorus
Male blackbirds establish territories from March and defend them with song — a relaxed, fluted phrase repeated from a high perch, often starting well before sunrise. The dawn chorus is disproportionately blackbird in many streets, and the quality of a male's song correlates with his condition: older, well-fed males sing longer phrases with more varied notes, signalling to females that the territory holds good feeding.

Each territory holds one breeding pair. Females build the nest and incubate; both feed chicks. Fledglings leave the nest before they can fly well and hide in undergrowth for several days while parents continue feeding — the stage when ground predation peaks. A blackbird pair may fledge three broods in a good year, which means the garden can hold dependent young from April through August if nesting succeeds.

Song intensity drops after midsummer as breeding winds down, but blackbirds remain in gardens year-round. Winter males retain territory in many areas, and the quiet chink contact call replaces the full song until the following spring. Hard weather drives blackbirds into gardens from surrounding countryside, which is why berry-bearing shrubs such as ivy and cotoneaster matter as much in January as mealworms do. The dawn song is not random melody — it is a boundary marker, and the male singing from your roof is telling rivals that this street is occupied.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/blackbird): Blackbird — wildlife guide.

## Window strikes and garden hazards
Blackbirds collide with windows when glass reflects trees, sky or interior planting. Collisions are commonest where feeders sit close to large panes. Moving feeders to within a metre of the glass — or beyond three metres — reduces fatal impacts, because birds either cannot build speed or can see the surface. External decals, strings or fine mesh break up reflections effectively. Ground-feeding blackbirds are also vulnerable when startled from lawn feeding stations beside patio doors — a pattern that peaks in autumn when berry-hunting birds flush from shrubbery near house walls.

Other garden hazards include slug pellets and pesticides that reduce invertebrate food, netting on fruit that can entangle birds, and uncapped chimneys or open water butts. Metaldehyde slug pellets and neonicotinoid-treated plants remove the invertebrate base that blackbird chicks depend on through spring and early summer. Blackbirds are adaptable and abundant — Least Concern globally — but local populations turn over quickly where cats and glass kill breeding adults faster than replacements arrive.

The combination of hazards is cumulative. A garden with a cat, unmarked glass, pesticide-treated lawn and no berry-bearing shrubs supports fewer successful blackbird broods than one where any single factor is addressed. Replacing short turf with longer grass margins, leaving leaf litter undisturbed under hedges, and planting native shrubs for nesting cover all reduce mortality without requiring specialist knowledge. Blackbird conservation in gardens is not about rare species protection — it is about reducing predictable, avoidable mortality in a bird people already have.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education for everyday garden wildlife. The blackbird is the thrush most British people know by sight and song — and the species where a single domestic cat, an unmarked window and a tidy, insect-poor lawn combine into nest failure that monitoring data records year after year.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/blackbird): Blackbird — wildlife guide.

## How can I tell a male blackbird from a female?
Males are glossy black with a bright orange-yellow bill and eye-ring. Females are dark brown with a paler, streaked breast and a duller bill. Juvenile males resemble females until their first winter.

## What should I feed blackbirds?
Mealworms, suet crumbles, halved apples and specialist ground-feeder mixes work well. Offer fresh water daily. Avoid bread, salty scraps and whole peanuts that small chicks cannot manage.

## Do blackbirds use nest boxes?
Yes — open-fronted boxes designed for robins and blackbirds, placed in dense cover between 1.5 and 3 metres high, are readily used where natural hedge sites are limited.

## Why do blackbirds sing so early in the morning?
Male blackbirds defend breeding territories by song, and dawn — before wind and human noise build — carries sound furthest. Singing before sunrise establishes territory before rivals become active.

## What do eurasian blackbirds eat?
Eurasian Blackbirds eat Worms, insects, berries and fallen fruit. The Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula) is a common British garden thrush; males are black with an orange bill, females are brown, and pairs nest in hedges and shrubs while feeding on worms, insects and berries — with domestic cats among the main causes of nest failure.

## Where do eurasian blackbirds live?
Eurasian Blackbirds live in Europe, North Africa and western Asia, Introduced to Australia and New Zealand. The Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula) is a common British garden thrush; males are black with an orange bill, females are brown, and pairs nest in hedges and shrubs while feeding on worms, insects and berries — with domestic cats among the main causes of nest failure.

## Are eurasian blackbirds dangerous?
Eurasian Blackbirds are domesticated animals and are not dangerous to people in the wild-predator sense. The Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula) is a common British garden thrush; males are black with an orange bill, females are brown, and pairs nest in hedges and shrubs while feeding on worms, insects and berries — with domestic cats among the main causes of nest failure. Usual risks are husbandry and handling, not unprovoked attacks.

## How long do eurasian blackbirds live?
A precise wild lifespan for eurasian blackbirds is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. The Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula) is a common British garden thrush; males are black with an orange bill, females are brown, and pairs nest in hedges and shrubs while feeding on worms, insects and berries — with domestic cats among the main causes of nest failure. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

## How big is an eurasian blackbird?
An Eurasian Blackbird is about 24–27 cm. The Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula) is a common British garden thrush; males are black with an orange bill, females are brown, and pairs nest in hedges and shrubs while feeding on worms, insects and berries — with domestic cats among the main causes of nest failure. Conservation status: Cat predation, window strikes, insect loss.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/wren): Wren — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The Eurasian wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) is a tiny insectivorous bird and Britain's most numerous breeding species by territory; it sings at extraordinary volume from dense cover, nests in cavities and small nest boxes, and suffers heavy mortality in hard winters without sheltered feeding.

## Introduction
The wren is Britain's most common breeding bird measured by territory — a tiny brown passerine with a cocked tail, fine barring and a voice entirely out of proportion to its size. The song is a rapid, rattling burst of trills delivered at volume that carries through a whole garden; the alarm call is a sharp, repeated tick.

Wrens hunt insects and spiders in dense undergrowth, tumbled walls, log piles and the bottoms of hedges. They nest in cavities — ivy on a wall, a nest box with a small entrance hole, an old coat pocket left in a shed — and sometimes build domed nests in shrubs. Severe cold snaps can kill large numbers overnight, which is why supplementary feeding through winter matters more for wrens than many people realise.

Despite their abundance, wrens are easy to overlook. They weigh about 10 g — less than a pound coin — and spend most of their time in cover at ground level. The song is what announces them, and a garden without wren song in spring is a garden missing its most numerous breeding bird.

## Takeaway
The wren is Britain's most common breeding bird by territory, despite weighing only about 10 g.

## Takeaway
Its song is loud, fast and prolonged — far larger than the bird that produces it.

## Takeaway
Wrens eat insects and spiders in dense undergrowth, log piles and the base of hedges.

## Takeaway
Small-hole nest boxes in quiet, shaded spots are used readily in gardens.

## Takeaway
Hard winters kill wrens in large numbers; suet, mealworms and ground feeding help survival.

## Takeaway
Domestic cats take wrens at ground level and probe nest boxes if entrance holes are low or accessible.

## Takeaway
Male wrens may build several nest structures; the female lines one and lays the clutch.

## Small bird, enormous voice
A wren's song is a territorial broadcast delivered from a hedge top or fence post — a rattling series of trills and churrs that can last many seconds and repeat through the day from March into summer. The volume comes from a syrinx and chest muscles that punch far above the bird's 10 g weight. A singing wren can be heard from fifty metres away through garden walls, which is why people often assume a much larger bird is responsible.

Territories are small but fiercely defended. Males confront rivals with song and, when necessary, direct combat. Several may nest in the same dense shrubbery if structure allows, each pair holding a pocket of cover. To human ears one hedge seems to hold a single bird; in fact it may hold several overlapping territories separated by song boundaries that shift through the season.

The song's function is to claim cover-rich pockets of garden — log piles, ivy walls, dense shrub bases — where insects are abundant. A wren without dense cover has nothing to defend, which is why tidy, bare gardens with short lawn and no undergrowth often hold no wrens despite being surrounded by wren-filled neighbours. The alarm call — a sharp, repeated tick — tells you a wren has spotted a predator, and other wrens in the hedge respond immediately.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/wren): Wren — wildlife guide.

## Nest boxes, cavities and winter feeding
Wrens nest in any enclosed cavity — a hole in a wall, ivy against brick, a nest box with a 32 mm entrance hole, or a domed nest tucked in a evergreen shrub. Males often construct multiple nests; the female selects one, lines it with feathers and lays five to eight eggs.

Fix boxes in quiet, shaded positions above cat reach — ideally two metres or higher on a wall or fence post, not on a tree trunk where cats climb easily. Open-fronted boxes are wrong for wrens; they need a small hole. In winter, the same boxes serve as communal roosts — a dozen birds may pack into one cavity on a cold night.

Winter is the critical period. Wrens roost communally in cavities on cold nights and hard weather can wipe out local populations. Suet blocks, mealworms and finely grated cheese on a ground tray or low table, plus an unfrozen water source, improve survival through January and February when insect food is scarce. A garden that feeds wrens through winter often holds breeding pairs in spring that would not otherwise have survived.

## Cats, cover and garden structure
Wrens live at ground level in dense cover, which makes them vulnerable to cats hunting along hedge bottoms and flower borders. A cat that sits beside a feeder or low nest box will take wrens regularly, and wrens are small enough that a single cat can remove an entire territory's worth of birds over a winter if cover is insufficient.

Garden structure matters more than feeders alone. Log piles, uncut grass margins, native shrubs and ivy on walls hold the spiders and insects wrens need and give escape cover. A tidy, bare flower bed with short lawn offers little — wrens need the tangle at the base of hedges, the gaps in dry-stone walls, and the leaf litter where spiders overwinter. Compost heaps and stacked firewood attract the invertebrates that wrens hunt through winter and early spring.

Nest boxes placed too low or on climbable posts are raided. Metal baffles below boxes and height above ground reduce access. Keeping cats indoors at dawn and dusk — when wrens feed most actively — is the single most effective step in cat-owning households. A wren population in a garden is a direct indicator that cover and insect food exist at ground level. Where wrens disappear, the cause is usually loss of understorey structure rather than absence of feeders.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/wren): Wren — wildlife guide.

## Cold weather and population cycles
Wren numbers fluctuate sharply after severe winters. The species is Least Concern globally and abundant in Britain, but local crashes can halve a garden population overnight when prolonged frost removes insect food and roost sites fail. The winter of 2010–11 caused widespread wren mortality across Britain when snow cover persisted for weeks and insects remained inaccessible beneath frozen ground.

Recovery is usually rapid — large clutches and multiple broods in good summers rebuild numbers within a year or two. That resilience is why the wren remains common despite winter mortality that would threaten a slower-breeding species. A garden that provides winter feeding and sheltered roost sites — nest boxes, ivy, evergreen shrubs — often recovers wren numbers faster than one that offers only summer habitat.

Window strikes are less common than in larger garden birds, but wrens do hit glass when startled from feeders near windows. Moving feeding stations away from reflective panes, or marking glass externally, reduces occasional kills. Sparrowhawks also take wrens at feeders, though this is natural predation rather than a garden hazard to eliminate. The wren's story in gardens is one of abundance combined with fragility — the commonest breeder by territory, but one hard frost away from local silence.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education for small birds that are easy to overlook. The wren is Britain's commonest breeder by territory yet dies in thousands during a single cold snap — a reminder that Least Concern status does not mean a garden population needs no help through winter.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/wren): Wren — wildlife guide.

## Why is the wren so loud?
The wren's song is a territorial signal that must carry through dense cover. Its syrinx and chest muscles produce a rapid, high-volume trill far louder than the bird's 10 g size suggests — essential for defending a small territory in a hedge.

## What nest box does a wren need?
A box with a 32 mm entrance hole, fixed in quiet shade at two metres or higher on a wall or post cats cannot climb easily. Wrens use domed nests in shrubs too, but cavity boxes in winter double as communal roosts.

## How do I feed wrens in winter?
Offer suet crumbles, mealworms and finely grated cheese on a ground tray or low table near dense cover. Provide fresh unfrozen water. Winter feeding improves survival when insect food is scarce and roosting birds need extra energy.

## Are wrens endangered?
No. The Eurasian wren is Least Concern and Britain's most numerous breeding bird by territory count. Severe winters cause local crashes, but populations usually recover within a year or two.

## What do eurasian wrens eat?
Eurasian Wrens eat Insects and spiders in dense undergrowth. The Eurasian wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) is a tiny insectivorous bird and Britain's most numerous breeding species by territory; it sings at extraordinary volume from dense cover, nests in cavities and small nest boxes, and suffers heavy mortality in hard winters without sheltered feeding.

## Where do eurasian wrens live?
Eurasian Wrens live in Europe, North Africa and temperate Asia, Introduced to New Zealand. The Eurasian wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) is a tiny insectivorous bird and Britain's most numerous breeding species by territory; it sings at extraordinary volume from dense cover, nests in cavities and small nest boxes, and suffers heavy mortality in hard winters without sheltered feeding.

## Are eurasian wrens dangerous?
Eurasian Wrens are not generally dangerous to people. The Eurasian wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) is a tiny insectivorous bird and Britain's most numerous breeding species by territory; it sings at extraordinary volume from dense cover, nests in cavities and small nest boxes, and suffers heavy mortality in hard winters without sheltered feeding. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

## How long do eurasian wrens live?
A precise wild lifespan for eurasian wrens is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. The Eurasian wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) is a tiny insectivorous bird and Britain's most numerous breeding species by territory; it sings at extraordinary volume from dense cover, nests in cavities and small nest boxes, and suffers heavy mortality in hard winters without sheltered feeding. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

## How big is an eurasian wren?
An Eurasian Wren is about 9–10 cm. The Eurasian wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) is a tiny insectivorous bird and Britain's most numerous breeding species by territory; it sings at extraordinary volume from dense cover, nests in cavities and small nest boxes, and suffers heavy mortality in hard winters without sheltered feeding. Conservation status: Hard winters, cat predation, loss of dense cover.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/goldfinch): Goldfinch — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is a seed-eating finch with a red face and yellow wing bars; in Britain it has increased in gardens where nyjer and sunflower feeders are provided, nesting high in trees while feeding in sociable flocks at specialist seed feeders.

## Introduction
The goldfinch is the most colourful finch in a British garden: a crimson face, black and white head, warm brown back and a broad yellow wing bar visible in flight. It feeds mainly on small seeds — thistle, teasel, dandelion and nyjer — and uses a fine, pointed bill to extract them with precision. The flight call — a liquid, tinkling note — often announces the flock before the birds appear at a feeder.

Goldfinches breed later than many garden birds, often into August, and nest in the outer branches of trees and tall shrubs. Their rise in suburban gardens over recent decades tracks the spread of nyjer-seed feeders and sunflower hearts — one of the few common species whose garden numbers have increased rather than fallen.

They visit feeders in chattering groups, and their dependence on small oily seeds makes them one of the garden birds most directly shaped by what people choose to put out. A garden that stops feeding nyjer in winter often sees its goldfinch flock disperse to neighbours who continue.

## Takeaway
Goldfinches have a red face, black and white head and bright yellow wing bars.

## Takeaway
They feed on small seeds — thistle, teasel, nyjer and sunflower hearts — not insects or bread.

## Takeaway
Nyjer-seed feeders have helped goldfinch numbers rise in British gardens since the 1990s.

## Takeaway
They nest high in tree canopies, often in loose colonies, breeding later than tits or robins.

## Takeaway
Domestic cats ambush goldfinches at ground-level feeders and beneath hanging stations.

## Takeaway
Window strikes occur when feeders sit close to large reflective glass.

## Takeaway
The liquid, twittering call is often heard before the birds appear at a feeder.

## Feeders, nyjer seed and what actually works
Goldfinches are specialist small-seed eaters. In the wild they take thistle, teasel, groundsel and birch seed from seed heads; in gardens nyjer seed in a fine-mesh feeder is the most reliable attractant. Sunflower hearts in a standard feeder also work, but nyjer draws goldfinches that ignore other offerings. The fine bill that extracts nyjer is poorly suited to large seeds, which is why goldfinches often ignore standard mixed seed while greenfinches and chaffinches take it readily.

They feed in sociable flocks — a feeder visited by one bird is often joined within minutes by others. Clean feeders and dry seed matter: nyjer goes rancid quickly in warm weather and can harbour mould that spreads disease. Position stations where cats cannot sit directly beneath or beside them — open lawn with a clear view helps birds spot danger. A feeding station beside dense shrubbery gives cats an ambush site.

Supplementary feeding supports goldfinches through winter and the breeding season, but the species also needs seed-bearing plants. Leaving teasel, thistle and dandelion to set seed in a border provides natural food and nesting material. Teasel heads in particular attract goldfinches through autumn and winter, and the down from ripening thistles lines their nests. A garden with both nyjer feeders and seed-bearing wildflowers supports goldfinches more reliably than either alone — and keeps them returning when feeder food runs short.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/goldfinch): Goldfinch — wildlife guide.

## Breeding high in the trees
Goldfinches nest in the outer forks of trees and tall shrubs — often at the canopy edge rather than deep inside cover. The nest is a neat cup of moss, grass and plant down, lined with thistle down and wool. Breeding starts later than many garden birds, with nests active into July and August when thistles seed. Alder, birch and rowan are common nest trees in suburban gardens where these species reach sufficient height.

They sometimes nest in loose colonies where habitat suits. Nest boxes are rarely used; conservation in gardens is mainly about feeding, seed plants and keeping cats away from the canopy edge — difficult when nests sit in tall trees beyond reach. Wind-thrown nests are a common cause of failure in exposed suburban trees, which is one reason goldfinches favour the leeward side of canopy edges.

Chicks are fed regurgitated seed paste. Insect food is minimal compared with tits or blackbirds, which ties goldfinch breeding less directly to garden pesticide use — though insect-rich habitat still supports general biodiversity. Late breeding is an adaptation to seed availability: goldfinch chicks fledge when thistles and teasels are ripening, not when caterpillars peak in spring. A pair may raise two broods in a good year, timed to successive seed crops.

## Cats, windows and feeder placement
Goldfinches are killed by domestic cats at feeders — especially ground trays and low tables where finches spill seed. Cats that wait beneath hanging feeders take birds when they flush. Sparrowhawks also hunt goldfinches at feeders, particularly in winter when finch flocks concentrate at food sources — a natural predator, but one whose kills increase where feeders draw birds into predictable locations.

Feeder placement reduces risk: avoid dense shrubbery immediately beside stations where cats can hide; use poles with baffles where practical; keep cats indoors at dawn and dusk. Collar bells reduce but do not stop predation. A feeder mounted on a pole in open lawn, at least two metres from cover, gives goldfinches time to see a cat approaching.

Window strikes kill goldfinches when feeders sit close to large panes that reflect sky or vegetation. The one-metre or three-metre rule applies: either very close so birds cannot build speed, or far enough that they can see the glass. External markings — decals, strings, film — break up reflections and cut fatalities. A goldfinch flock startled from a feeder beside a window is a common collision scenario, particularly with modern double glazing that reflects sharply on bright days.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/goldfinch): Goldfinch — wildlife guide.

## A rare garden success story
While many British garden birds declined since the 1970s, goldfinch garden numbers increased substantially — linked to nyjer feeders, sunflower hearts and a spread of seed-rich planting in suburban gardens. The rise is one of the clearest examples of supplementary feeding shifting a species' garden distribution, though it depends on people continuing to provide clean nyjer rather than a one-time change.

The species is Least Concern globally and widespread across Europe. Trapping for the cage-bird trade caused historic declines in some regions; legal protection and changing fashion reduced that pressure. In Britain, garden feeding is now the dominant human interaction, and goldfinches have become a standard sight at suburban feeders in areas where they were scarce thirty years ago.

Goldfinches remain vulnerable to disease at dirty feeders — trichomonosis and salmonella spread where seed is wet and mouldy. Regular cleaning with a weak disinfectant and dry storage of nyjer reduce outbreaks that can affect greenfinches and chaffinches as well. The goldfinch's garden success is real but conditional: clean feeders, cat-aware placement and seed plants together sustain the increase that nyjer alone started. Without all three, local goldfinch numbers can fall as quickly as they rose.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education for garden birds whose fortunes track everyday choices. The goldfinch is one of the few British species that increased as nyjer feeders spread — proof that feeding done well helps, while dirty feeders and cat ambush sites still kill birds at the window.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/goldfinch): Goldfinch — wildlife guide.

## What is the best food for goldfinches?
Nyjer seed in a fine-mesh feeder is the most reliable attractant. Sunflower hearts also work. Goldfinches need small oily seeds — not bread, peanuts in the shell or general mixed seed they cannot extract.

## Why have goldfinches increased in British gardens?
Garden bird monitoring links the rise to nyjer and sunflower feeders from the 1990s onwards, plus seed-bearing garden planting. Goldfinches are one of the few common species whose garden numbers grew while others declined.

## Do goldfinches use nest boxes?
Rarely. They nest high in the outer branches of trees and tall shrubs, using moss, grass and thistle down. Garden support is mainly through feeding and seed plants rather than boxes.

## How do I stop cats catching goldfinches?
Place feeders away from dense shrub cover where cats hide, use pole baffles, avoid ground feeding where possible, and keep cats indoors at dawn and dusk. Collar bells help but do not eliminate kills.

## What do european goldfinchs eat?
European Goldfinchs eat Nyjer seed and sunflower hearts. The European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is a seed-eating finch with a red face and yellow wing bars; in Britain it has increased in gardens where nyjer and sunflower feeders are provided, nesting high in trees while feeding in sociable flocks at specialist seed feeders.

## Where do european goldfinchs live?
European Goldfinchs live in Europe, North Africa and western Asia, Introduced to Australia, New Zealand and Uruguay. The European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is a seed-eating finch with a red face and yellow wing bars; in Britain it has increased in gardens where nyjer and sunflower feeders are provided, nesting high in trees while feeding in sociable flocks at specialist seed feeders.

## Are european goldfinchs dangerous?
The European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is a seed-eating finch with a red face and yellow wing bars; in Britain it has increased in gardens where nyjer and sunflower feeders are provided, nesting high in trees while feeding in sociable flocks at specialist seed feeders. Give wild european goldfinchs space; do not corner or handle them.

## How long do european goldfinchs live?
A precise wild lifespan for european goldfinchs is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. The European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is a seed-eating finch with a red face and yellow wing bars; in Britain it has increased in gardens where nyjer and sunflower feeders are provided, nesting high in trees while feeding in sociable flocks at specialist seed feeders. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

## How big is an european goldfinch?
An European Goldfinch is about 12–13 cm. The European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is a seed-eating finch with a red face and yellow wing bars; in Britain it has increased in gardens where nyjer and sunflower feeders are provided, nesting high in trees while feeding in sociable flocks at specialist seed feeders. Conservation status: Cat predation, window strikes, dirty feeders, trapping in some regions.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/pheasant): Pheasant — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is a large Asian gamebird introduced to Britain for shooting; males are brightly coloured with a long barred tail, females are mottled brown, and millions are released annually — making road deaths, cat predation on chicks and fence entanglement common in rural gardens and lanes.

## Introduction
The common pheasant is the large, long-tailed bird that crosses rural roads, struts through field margins and occasionally appears at the bottom of a garden bordering farmland. Males are unmistakable — iridescent copper and gold, a green head, red facial wattles and a white neck ring in most British birds. Females are mottled brown and far harder to spot.

In Britain the pheasant is not native. It was introduced for sport centuries ago and is now maintained at extraordinary density by annual releases for shooting — tens of millions of birds each year. Whether you encounter one as wildlife or as stock depends on where you live, but the same hazards apply: road collisions, cat predation on chicks and fence entanglement.

Understanding the pheasant as an introduced gamebird rather than a native wild species clarifies why it is so abundant while native farmland birds such as grey partridge, lapwing and skylark have declined. Its presence in a garden reflects nearby shooting or farmland management, not the garden's ecological quality.

## Takeaway
The common pheasant is native to Asia and was introduced to Britain for shooting; it is not a native wild bird.

## Takeaway
Males are brightly coloured with a long tail; females are cryptic mottled brown.

## Takeaway
Millions are released each year for sport, creating densities far above natural levels.

## Takeaway
Road collisions kill large numbers on rural lanes — especially in release areas in autumn.

## Takeaway
Domestic cats take pheasant chicks and eggs from ground nests in rough grass and hedgerows.

## Takeaway
Pheasants do not use nest boxes; hens nest in a grass-lined scrape on the ground.

## Takeaway
Supplementary grain feeding occurs on shooting estates; garden feeding is unnecessary and can attract rats.

## An introduced gamebird, not a native wild species
Phasianus colchicus originates in Asia from the Caucasus east to China. Romans and later landowners brought it to Britain; it persisted and spread through woodland, farmland and hedgerows. Today its British population is sustained largely by annual releases for driven shooting — estimated at over 40 million birds in some recent assessments. Without releases, the wild breeding population would be far smaller than the numbers seen in autumn.

That scale matters ecologically. Pheasants compete with native ground-feeding birds, eat large quantities of grain and invertebrates, and disturb woodland understorey. They are Least Concern globally because of their vast native range in Asia, but in Britain they are a managed introduction whose numbers reflect shooting economics, not habitat carrying capacity. Grey partridge, lapwing and skylark — native farmland birds — have declined in the same landscapes where pheasant numbers have risen.

In rural gardens bordering fields or woodland, pheasants appear as everyday wildlife — strutting males crowing in spring, hens leading chicks along hedgerows in summer. Understanding their introduced status clarifies why they are so abundant while native farmland birds declined. The pheasant in your lane is not evidence of a healthy ecosystem; it is evidence of a nearby release pen and the management regime that sustains it.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/pheasant): Pheasant — wildlife guide.

## Ground nesting, chicks and cat predation
Hen pheasants nest in a shallow scrape on the ground, lined with grass and hidden in tall vegetation, nettles or hedge bottoms. Clutches contain around eight to twelve eggs; incubation lasts about three weeks. Chicks leave the nest immediately and follow the hen on foot — unable to fly for two weeks. During this period the brood stays within rough cover, moving along hedgerow bases and field margins where the hen can lead chicks to insects and seeds.

That ground-based life exposes pheasants to domestic cats at every stage. Cats take eggs and chicks from nests and kill young birds in rough grass. Foxes and corvids take a larger share in the countryside, but in gardens and village edges cats are a consistent predator. A hen pheasant with chicks crossing a garden lawn is vulnerable whenever a cat is present.

Nest boxes are irrelevant — pheasants need undisturbed rough margins, nettle patches and hedge bottoms. Leaving a strip of rough grass unmown through June and July gives nesting hens cover. Keeping cats in at dawn and dusk reduces chick kills when hens lead broods through garden boundaries. A garden with a cat and a pheasant hen with chicks is a garden where the cat will eventually find the brood, regardless of how well hidden the nest scrape appears.

## Roads, fences and release-time mortality
Pheasants are among the commonest birds killed on rural British roads. They fly low across lanes, flush late in front of vehicles and often fail to clear oncoming traffic. Mortality peaks in autumn when released birds disperse and again in spring when cock birds hold territory beside roads. A lane bordered by release woodland can see dozens of road-killed pheasants in a single month after the shooting season ends.

Fence entanglement kills birds that attempt to fly through mesh they misjudge. Netting on fruit cages and deer fencing near release woods adds to losses. Window strikes are less common than in songbirds but occur where pheasants see reflections of open ground on outbuilding glass. Electric fencing and barbed wire on farmland boundaries also cause injuries to birds attempting low flights between cover patches.

These are practical hazards in rural gardens: slow down on lanes bordered by release woodland, mark large glass on outbuildings, and avoid loose netting at pheasant height. None of this addresses the scale of release mortality, but it reduces kills where birds overlap with daily life. The pheasant's road-death rate is a direct consequence of release density — more birds released means more birds on roads, regardless of how careful individual drivers are.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/pheasant): Pheasant — wildlife guide.

## Feeding, gardens and what not to do
Pheasants find their own food — grain, seeds, buds, insects and worms — and shooting estates supplement with spill from feeders designed for release pens. Garden feeding of pheasants is unnecessary and can attract rats and corvids. Scatter grain beneath a feeder intended for pheasants quickly draws rats, which in turn attract more cats to the garden — worsening the predation pressure on native ground-nesting birds.

If pheasants raid vegetable beds or strip newly sown seed, netting and fencing are more effective than scatter feeding elsewhere. The bird's presence reflects nearby shooting or farmland, not a gap in garden ecology that feeding should fill. Pheasants will also take fallen fruit and dig in soft soil for worms, which can damage newly planted beds if birds visit regularly.

For conservation-minded gardeners, the relevant action is protecting native species — nest boxes for tits, cat control for blackbirds, insect habitat for swallows — rather than managing pheasants as if they were native garden birds. Their abundance is a product of release, not of garden suitability. Feeding pheasants does not help native birds and may attract predators that take native nests as well. The practical response to pheasants in a garden is tolerance or deterrence, not supplementary feeding.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education that includes honest context about introduced species. The pheasant is the bird most rural Britons see weekly yet few recognise as an Asian gamebird maintained by release — understanding that distinction matters for every conversation about farmland bird decline and cat predation on ground nesters.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/pheasant): Pheasant — wildlife guide.

## Are pheasants native to Britain?
No. The common pheasant is native to Asia and was introduced to Britain for sport, with populations maintained largely by annual releases for shooting. It is established in the wild but is not a native British species.

## Should I feed pheasants in my garden?
Generally no. Pheasants find grain, seeds and invertebrates without help, and scatter feeding attracts rats and corvids. If birds raid vegetables, netting is more effective than supplementary food.

## Do pheasants use nest boxes?
No. Hen pheasants nest on the ground in a grass-lined scrape hidden in tall vegetation or hedge bottoms. Rough grass margins and undisturbed nettle patches offer the best nesting cover.

## Why do so many pheasants die on roads?
Pheasants flush low across rural lanes and often fail to clear traffic. Mortality is highest in autumn when released birds disperse and in spring when males hold territory beside roads.

## What do common pheasants eat?
Common Pheasants eat Grain, seeds, buds, insects and worms. The common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is a large Asian gamebird introduced to Britain for shooting; males are brightly coloured with a long barred tail, females are mottled brown, and millions are released annually — making road deaths, cat predation on chicks and fence entanglement common in rural gardens and lanes.

## Where do common pheasants live?
Common Pheasants live in Native to Asia from the Caucasus to China, Introduced and established across Europe, North America and New Zealand. The common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is a large Asian gamebird introduced to Britain for shooting; males are brightly coloured with a long barred tail, females are mottled brown, and millions are released annually — making road deaths, cat predation on chicks and fence entanglement common in rural gardens and lanes.

## Are common pheasants dangerous?
Common Pheasants are not generally dangerous to people. The common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is a large Asian gamebird introduced to Britain for shooting; males are brightly coloured with a long barred tail, females are mottled brown, and millions are released annually — making road deaths, cat predation on chicks and fence entanglement common in rural gardens and lanes. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

## How long do common pheasants live?
A precise wild lifespan for common pheasants is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. The common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is a large Asian gamebird introduced to Britain for shooting; males are brightly coloured with a long barred tail, females are mottled brown, and millions are released annually — making road deaths, cat predation on chicks and fence entanglement common in rural gardens and lanes. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

## How big is a common pheasant?
A Common Pheasant is about 60–90 cm including tail (male). The common pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is a large Asian gamebird introduced to Britain for shooting; males are brightly coloured with a long barred tail, females are mottled brown, and millions are released annually — making road deaths, cat predation on chicks and fence entanglement common in rural gardens and lanes.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/jay): Jay — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius) is a pink-brown woodland corvid with a blue wing patch, known for its harsh screech, secretive habits and autumn acorn caching that helps regenerate oak woodland across Britain and temperate Eurasia.

## Introduction
The Eurasian jay is the most colourful corvid in Britain: pink-brown body, black-and-white wing patch and a barred panel of electric blue on the closed wing that flashes when the bird flies. It is also the most elusive. Jays spend much of their time in woodland canopy and understorey, moving quietly until something alarms them — then the harsh, screeching call carries far through the trees.

That call is the sound most people know the jay by, because the bird itself is rarely seen clearly. In autumn, though, jays become more visible at woodland edges and in parks with mature oaks, gathering acorns and burying them in scattered caches across the forest floor. A single jay may store thousands of acorns in a season, and the ones it forgets — or never retrieves — germinate into saplings. Jays are one of the main dispersers of oak in European woodland, and their caching behaviour directly shapes which oak trees grow where.

Jays are omnivores. Acorns dominate the autumn diet, but through spring and summer they take insects, small mammals, eggs and nestlings of other birds. That predatory side makes them unpopular with some birdwatchers, but it is standard corvid ecology — magpies and crows play the same role. In gardens, jays visit peanut feeders cautiously, usually from cover, and disappear at the first sign of disturbance.

## Takeaway
Jays are pink-brown corvids with a striking blue patch on the wing — the most colourful crow-family bird in Britain.

## Takeaway
They are secretive woodland birds more often heard screeching than seen clearly.

## Takeaway
Autumn acorn caching is their signature behaviour; forgotten caches germinate into oak saplings.

## Takeaway
Jays eat insects, small mammals and other birds' eggs as well as acorns — standard corvid omnivory.

## Takeaway
They visit garden peanut feeders but rarely linger in the open.

## Takeaway
Domestic cats and disturbance at woodland edges are the main garden-adjacent pressures.

## Takeaway
Least Concern globally; locally common in oak woodland across Britain.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/jay): Jay — wildlife guide.

## A corvid that prefers cover to confrontation
Unlike magpies and crows, which patrol open ground and rooftops, jays are fundamentally woodland birds. They move through oak and beech canopy, hop along shaded paths and freeze when exposed. The pink-brown plumage is excellent camouflage against leaf litter and bark; the blue wing patch stays hidden until the bird flies, when it becomes a vivid flash that may startle a predator or rival into hesitation.

The screech call — harsh, rising, unmistakable — is both alarm and contact. Jays use it when disturbed, when crossing open ground and when mobbing owls or cats. In spring, a softer version accompanies courtship display, with the male posturing and showing the blue wing panel to the female. Territories are held in woodland, not gardens, though birds will travel to feeders at woodland edges.

Jays are intelligent and wary. A garden jay will watch from a tree for minutes before dropping to a feeder, and will flee at movement behind a window. That caution is adaptive: jays are hunted by goshawks and persecuted historically by gamekeepers who blamed them for egg losses. Their elusiveness is not shyness for its own sake but a corvid that learned to stay out of sight. Where woodland cover reaches garden boundaries, jays become possible — but never bold in the open way magpies are.

## Acorn caching and the oaks it plants
From September through November, jays gather acorns — mainly pedunculate and sessile oak — and bury them in loose soil, leaf litter and grass across their territory. Each cache holds one or a few acorns, placed tens of metres apart. A productive jay may store several thousand acorns in a season, and research in oak woodland has shown that jays can transport acorns hundreds of metres from the parent tree, far beyond wind dispersal range.

Not every cache is recovered. Jays have excellent spatial memory but imperfect recall, and some acorns are left to germinate. Over decades, this behaviour shapes woodland structure: oak stands appear where jays cached heavily, and genetic studies confirm that jays move acorns between woodland fragments. In landscapes where oak regeneration is failing because of deer browsing or lack of seed trees, jay dispersal becomes one of the few natural mechanisms still operating.

The caching season makes jays more visible. Birds cross rides and park edges carrying acorns in the gullet and bill, and the white rump shows clearly in flight. This is the best time to see a jay well — not because they become tame, but because the food task forces them into the open more often.