World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/red-kite): Red Kite — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A red kite (Milvus milvus) is a medium-large European bird of prey with rufous-brown plumage, long angled wings and a distinctive deeply forked tail. Mainly a scavenger feeding on carrion, it is famous in Britain for its dramatic recovery from near-extinction through legal protection and reintroduction.

## Introduction
The red kite (Milvus milvus) is a graceful, medium-large bird of prey instantly recognised by its deeply forked, twisting tail and warm rufous-brown plumage. A buoyant, agile flier, it soars on long, angled wings, riding thermals as it searches for food. Red kites are mainly scavengers, gliding low over fields, woodland edges and roadsides in search of carrion, alongside small mammals, birds and earthworms. Almost entirely confined to Europe, the species suffered catastrophic declines from persecution and poisoning, vanishing from much of Britain by the late nineteenth century. Decades of legal protection and reintroduction have since made it one of conservation's great recovery stories, and today red kites are once again a familiar sight over many parts of the UK.

## Takeaway
The red kite is unmistakable in flight, with a long, deeply forked tail it twists like a rudder to steer.

## Takeaway
It is primarily a scavenger, feeding heavily on carrion as well as small mammals, birds and earthworms.

## Takeaway
Almost the entire world population breeds in Europe, with strongholds in Germany, Spain and France.

## Takeaway
By the late 1800s the species was nearly wiped out in Britain, surviving only in remote mid-Wales.

## Takeaway
Legal protection and reintroductions from 1989 onward restored red kites across much of the UK.

## Takeaway
The IUCN now lists the red kite as Least Concern, having previously rated it Near Threatened.

## What does a red kite look like?
The red kite is a striking raptor built for effortless soaring. Adults measure roughly 60-70 cm from bill to tail, with a wingspan of about 175-195 cm, yet weigh only around 0.8-1.3 kg, females being slightly heavier than males. Their plumage is a rich, warm rufous-brown, streaked with darker markings, while the head is paler, often appearing greyish-white. The most diagnostic feature is the long, deeply forked tail, which is reddish above and constantly flexed and twisted in flight to steer. In the air the long, angled wings show a complex pattern: large pale patches near the wingtips contrast with dark 'fingers' and darker secondaries. The eye is amber-yellow and the bill is yellow at the base with a dark, hooked tip. Red kites are far more buoyant and manoeuvrable than buzzards, rocking and tilting as they glide low over open ground. Juveniles are similar but duller, with paler feather edges and a less deeply forked tail. A very small proportion of birds show leucistic, pale or whitish feathering, a rare natural variation.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/red-kite): Red Kite — wildlife guide.

## What do red kites eat and how do they hunt?
Red kites are opportunistic feeders and, above all, scavengers. Carrion forms a large part of their diet, including dead sheep, deer, rabbits and other animals, as well as roadkill, which is one reason they are often seen patrolling motorway verges and field edges. They also take live prey within their power: small mammals such as voles, mice and young rabbits, small or injured birds, amphibians, and large numbers of earthworms, which they gather from freshly turned soil. Unlike fast, powerful hunters such as peregrines, the red kite relies on patient, low, quartering flight, dropping onto food it spots from above rather than pursuing agile prey. This scavenging lifestyle made the species historically valued in medieval towns, where kites helped clear streets of refuse and carrion. The same habits, however, leave red kites highly vulnerable to poisoning, whether from illegal baits laid for predators, secondary poisoning from rodenticides, or contaminated carcasses. In some areas supplementary feeding at dedicated sites now provides reliable food and a chance to see the birds gathering in spectacular numbers.

## Why did red kites nearly disappear, and how did they recover?
For centuries red kites were common and even protected as urban scavengers, but attitudes changed sharply. From the sixteenth century onward they were treated as vermin, persecuted alongside other birds of prey, while egg collecting, habitat loss and later poisoning drove steep declines. By the late nineteenth century the red kite had been wiped out across most of Britain, clinging on only in the remote wooded valleys of mid-Wales, where at one point just a handful of pairs survived. This tiny Welsh population became one of the longest-running protection efforts in the world. The major turnaround came with reintroduction: from 1989 birds from continental Europe and Wales were released at sites in England and Scotland, supported by strong legal protection against killing and poisoning. The reintroduced birds thrived, spreading widely and breeding successfully, so that red kites are now a familiar sight over the Chilterns and many other regions. Globally the species' recovery, helped by protection across Europe, led the IUCN to downgrade its status from Near Threatened to Least Concern.

## WARN work
WARN does not run field projects specifically for red kites, which live almost entirely in Europe, outside the countries where our partners work. This guide is part of our free educational mission to help people understand and value wildlife. The threats behind the red kite's historic decline, persecution, poisoning and habitat loss, are the same pressures that endanger raptors and scavengers in the regions WARN does protect, where vultures and other birds of prey face poisoning and shrinking habitat.

## Donation hook
If the red kite's comeback inspires you, your support helps us keep producing free wildlife education and protect at-risk animals in the countries where we work.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/red-kite): Red Kite — wildlife guide.

## Are red kites birds of prey?
Yes. The red kite is a true bird of prey (a raptor) in the hawk and eagle family, Accipitridae. Like other raptors it has keen eyesight, a hooked bill and sharp talons. However, it is mainly a scavenger rather than an active hunter, feeding heavily on carrion as well as small mammals, birds and earthworms.

## Are red kites dangerous to humans or pets?
No. Red kites pose virtually no threat to people. They are primarily scavengers and take relatively small live prey such as voles, mice and earthworms. They are far too small and lightly built to harm a person, and healthy adult cats or dogs are not prey. Problems usually arise only where people feed kites by hand, encouraging them to approach gardens.

## What is the difference between a red kite and a buzzard?
Both are common raptors but look quite different in flight. The red kite is slimmer, with longer, more angled wings, a rufous body and an unmistakable long, deeply forked tail it constantly twists. The common buzzard is bulkier, with broader, rounder wings and a short, fan-shaped tail. Buzzards soar in steady circles, while kites glide and rock with greater agility.

## Where do red kites live?
Red kites are found almost entirely in Europe, where nearly the whole world population breeds. Strongholds include Germany, Spain, France and, increasingly, the United Kingdom. They favour a mix of open countryside for feeding and mature woodland or scattered trees for nesting. Following reintroductions, they are now widespread across parts of England, Wales and Scotland.

## How big is a red kite?
A red kite is a medium-large raptor. It measures roughly 60-70 cm from bill to tail and has a wingspan of about 175-195 cm, close to 1.8 metres. Despite this large wing area, it is lightly built, weighing only around 0.8-1.3 kg. Females are usually slightly larger and heavier than males, as in many birds of prey.

## Why are red kites a conservation success story?
Red kites were nearly wiped out in Britain by the late 1800s, surviving only in remote mid-Wales. Through long-term legal protection and reintroduction programmes begun in 1989, the birds were successfully re-established across much of the UK. Recovery across Europe led the IUCN to move the species from Near Threatened to Least Concern, making it a celebrated example of effective conservation.


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

## One-line answer
A magpie is a large black-and-white bird in the crow family (Corvidae). The Eurasian magpie, Pica pica, is famous for its long iridescent tail, loud chattering call and exceptional intelligence — it is one of the few non-mammals known to recognise itself in a mirror.

## Introduction
The Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) is a large, unmistakable member of the crow family, instantly recognised by its bold black-and-white plumage and long, iridescent tail that shimmers green and blue in sunlight. Found across Europe, much of temperate Asia and North Africa, it thrives in farmland, woodland edges, parks and towns. Magpies are among the most intelligent of all animals: they store food, solve problems, and are one of the very few non-mammal species shown to pass the mirror self-recognition test. In British folklore they carry the old rhyme "one for sorrow", yet their adaptability and sharp wits have made them a familiar and successful bird almost everywhere people live.

## Takeaway
The Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) is a corvid — a member of the crow and jay family — not a bird of prey.

## Takeaway
It is one of only a handful of non-mammal species shown to recognise itself in a mirror, a marker of self-awareness.

## Takeaway
Its long tail makes up more than half its total body length and gleams iridescent green and blue.

## Takeaway
Magpies are highly adaptable omnivores, eating insects, seeds, fruit, scraps and occasionally eggs or nestlings.

## Takeaway
The IUCN lists the Eurasian magpie as Least Concern, with a large and stable global population.

## Takeaway
In British folklore the magpie features in the counting rhyme 'one for sorrow, two for joy'.

## What does a magpie look like?
The Eurasian magpie is a striking, pied corvid measuring 44-46 cm from beak to tail tip, with a wingspan of roughly 52-62 cm. At a glance it appears simply black and white, but in good light the black areas glow with an iridescent sheen of green, blue and purple, especially across the long, wedge-shaped tail that accounts for more than half the bird's length. The shoulders and belly are clean white, the wings show a flash of blue-green, and the stout black bill and legs complete the look. Males and females are alike, though males average slightly larger. In flight the magpie reveals broad white wing patches and a trailing tail, alternating bursts of flapping with short glides. Its voice is just as distinctive: a harsh, rattling, machine-gun-like 'chacker-chacker' chatter that often signals alarm or announces the bird long before it is seen. Juveniles resemble adults but have shorter tails and duller plumage in their first months.


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

## How intelligent are magpies?
Magpies are among the most intelligent animals on Earth. Like other corvids, they have a brain that is large relative to body size, and they show problem-solving, planning and excellent memory — they can cache food in hundreds of locations and recover it later. Most remarkably, the Eurasian magpie is one of the very few non-mammal species demonstrated to pass the mirror self-recognition test. In landmark experiments, magpies marked with a coloured spot on the throat — visible only in a mirror — tried to remove the mark from their own bodies, suggesting they recognised the reflection as themselves rather than another bird. This places them in a small club alongside great apes, dolphins and elephants. Magpies also recognise individual human faces, can count to a degree, and have been observed in behaviour that resembles using tools and even apparent 'funeral' gatherings around dead companions. Their curiosity and boldness, sometimes mistaken for thieving 'shiny-object' habits, are really signs of an inquisitive, fast-learning mind.

## Where do magpies live and what do they eat?
Eurasian magpies range right across temperate Europe and Asia, from Britain and Iberia eastward, with populations also in North Africa. They are supremely adaptable, equally at home in open farmland, woodland edges, hedgerows, suburban gardens, parks and city centres — almost anywhere that offers trees or tall shrubs for nesting and open ground for foraging. They do not migrate, holding territories year-round, and outside the breeding season may gather in loose flocks. Magpies are true omnivores. Their diet shifts with the seasons and includes insects and other invertebrates, seeds, grain, berries and fruit, carrion, household scraps and, in spring, the eggs and nestlings of other birds — a habit that draws criticism but has little measurable effect on overall songbird numbers. They build large, domed stick nests, often with a roof, usually high in a tree or tall hedge. A typical European clutch is five or six eggs, incubated by the female while the male provisions her, and pairs frequently stay together across years.

## WARN work
World Animal Rescue Network does not run field projects specifically for the Eurasian magpie, which is a widespread and thriving species well outside the countries where WARN's partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational mission: helping people understand and value wildlife. The threats that quietly reshape magpie habitats — hedgerow and woodland loss, intensive land use and shrinking green space — are the same pressures that endanger many of the animals WARN does protect.

## Donation hook
If this guide deepened your appreciation of the natural world, a small gift helps WARN keep protecting the vulnerable animals that need it most.


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

## Is a magpie a member of the crow family?
Yes. The Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) belongs to Corvidae, the crow and jay family, which also includes ravens, rooks, jackdaws and jays. Corvids are widely regarded as among the most intelligent of all birds, and the magpie's problem-solving, memory and self-recognition abilities place it firmly in that brainy lineage.

## Why do magpies like shiny objects?
The idea that magpies compulsively steal shiny things is largely a myth. Controlled studies found magpies are actually wary of unfamiliar objects, shiny or not. Their reputation comes from natural curiosity — they investigate novel items as part of foraging — rather than any special attraction to glitter. Most of the 'thieving magpie' image is folklore, not biology.

## Can magpies really recognise themselves in a mirror?
Yes. The Eurasian magpie is one of the few non-mammal species shown to pass the mirror self-recognition test. When marked with a coloured spot visible only in a reflection, magpies tried to remove it from their own bodies, suggesting genuine self-awareness. This rare ability is otherwise documented mainly in great apes, dolphins and elephants.

## What does the rhyme 'one for sorrow' mean?
It comes from a traditional British counting rhyme about magpies: 'One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy...' The number of magpies seen was superstitiously linked to good or bad luck. It reflects old folklore rather than any real behaviour of the birds, which are simply social corvids that may be seen alone or in groups.

## Are magpies harmful to other birds?
Magpies do sometimes take the eggs and chicks of smaller birds in spring, which can be distressing to witness. However, large-scale studies have found this predation has little measurable effect on overall songbird populations, whose numbers are driven far more by habitat loss and food availability. Magpies are natural omnivores filling an ordinary ecological role.

## How long do magpies live?
In the wild, most magpies live only a few years, with high mortality among young birds. Those that survive their first year can live considerably longer, and ringing records include individuals over twenty years old. The oldest known wild Eurasian magpie in Britain reached about 21 years and 8 months, though such ages are exceptional.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/blue-tit): Blue Tit — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) is a small European songbird with a blue cap and wings, white cheeks and a yellow breast. Weighing about 11 grams, it is a common, acrobatic garden-feeder visitor across Britain, Ireland and much of Europe, and an IUCN Least Concern species.

## Introduction
The Eurasian blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) is a small, instantly recognisable songbird with a sky-blue cap and wings, white cheeks and a sunshine-yellow breast. Weighing around 11 grams, it is one of the most familiar visitors to garden feeders across Britain, Ireland and much of Europe. Agile and inquisitive, it hangs upside-down from the thinnest twigs to reach insects and seeds, and famously learned to peck open foil milk-bottle tops on doorsteps from the 1920s onwards. Blue tits are cavity-nesters that readily take to nest boxes, raising a single large brood each spring timed to a glut of caterpillars. Though tiny, they are bold, social and easy to watch.

## Takeaway
The blue tit is a small blue-capped, yellow-breasted songbird widespread across Europe and into western Asia and North Africa.

## Takeaway
It is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, with a large and broadly stable European population.

## Takeaway
Agile and acrobatic, it forages upside-down on thin twigs and is a confident visitor to garden feeders.

## Takeaway
Blue tits famously learned to peck open foil milk-bottle tops in Britain, a behaviour recorded from the 1920s.

## Takeaway
They are cavity-nesters that readily use nest boxes, laying unusually large clutches of up to a dozen or more eggs.

## Takeaway
Breeding is finely timed so chicks hatch during the spring peak in caterpillar abundance.

## What does a blue tit look like?
The blue tit is among the most colourful small birds in Europe, and its palette makes it hard to confuse with anything else at a feeder. Adults have a bright blue crown bordered by a white forehead and cheeks, a thin dark line running through the eye, and a dark bib beneath the bill. The back is a soft yellow-green, the wings and tail are blue, and the underparts are a vivid yellow, often with a faint dark stripe down the belly. Males and females look broadly alike, though males tend to show slightly more brilliant blue, which is enhanced by ultraviolet reflectance that birds can see but humans cannot. It is a compact bird, measuring 10.5 to 12 centimetres in length with a wingspan of roughly 17.5 to 20 centimetres, and weighing only about 11 grams. Juveniles are duller and greener, with yellowish rather than white cheeks. The combination of blue cap, white face and yellow breast, together with its small size and restless, acrobatic movements, makes the blue tit one of the easiest garden birds to identify with confidence.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/blue-tit): Blue Tit — wildlife guide.

## Where do blue tits live and what do they eat?
Blue tits are found across most of Europe, extending into parts of western Asia, the Middle East and north-west Africa. They favour deciduous and mixed woodland but adapt readily to parks, hedgerows, orchards and gardens, which is why they are such a familiar presence around homes. Most are resident year-round rather than long-distance migrants, though some northern and eastern birds move in response to harsh winters. Their diet shifts with the seasons. In spring and summer they feed heavily on insects, spiders and other small invertebrates, with caterpillars especially important for feeding nestlings. Outside the breeding season they broaden their menu to include seeds, fruits and nuts, and they are enthusiastic users of garden feeders stocked with sunflower seeds and fat. This adaptability and willingness to exploit human-provided food has helped the species remain abundant. Their boldness around people also produced one of ornithology's most famous learned behaviours: from the 1920s, British blue tits learned to peck through the foil caps of doorstep milk bottles to reach the cream beneath, a habit that appeared to spread through populations before doorstep deliveries declined.

## How do blue tits breed and nest?
Blue tits are cavity-nesters. In the wild they use holes in trees and walls, but they take very readily to garden nest boxes, which has made them a favourite subject for nest-cam watchers. The female builds a cup of moss, grass and other plant material, lining it with hair, wool and feathers. Blue tits lay notably large clutches for their size, typically around seven or eight eggs but sometimes a dozen or more; exceptionally large single-female clutches have been verified in Britain. They usually raise a single brood each year, and the timing is critical: laying is judged so that the hungry chicks hatch to coincide with the spring flush of caterpillars, the key food for growing young. A pair may need to deliver hundreds of caterpillars a day to feed a full brood. This tight link between breeding and caterpillar abundance makes blue tits a useful indicator of how warming springs are shifting the timing of natural events. Most blue tits live only a few years, with high mortality among young birds, although ringing has shown individuals can reach ten years or more.

## WARN work
World Animal Rescue Network does not run field projects specifically for the blue tit, which is a common and widespread species well outside the countries where WARN's partners work partner countries. This guide is part of WARN's free educational work, written to help people understand and value the wildlife around them. The threats that do affect blue tits in places, such as habitat loss, pesticide use that reduces insect food, and the changing timing of seasons, are the same broad pressures that bear down on the more vulnerable animals WARN does work to protect.

## Donation hook
If learning about the blue tit brought you a moment of joy, you might consider supporting the educational and rescue work that helps people protect wildlife everywhere.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/blue-tit): Blue Tit — wildlife guide.

## What is a blue tit?
A blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) is a small European songbird in the tit family, recognised by its blue cap and wings, white cheeks and bright yellow breast. Weighing only about 11 grams, it is one of the most common and acrobatic visitors to garden feeders across Britain, Ireland and much of Europe, and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

## What do blue tits eat?
Blue tits eat mainly insects, spiders and other small invertebrates, with caterpillars being especially important for feeding their chicks in spring. Outside the breeding season they also take seeds, nuts and fruit, and they are keen users of garden feeders, particularly those offering sunflower seeds and fat balls. This varied, adaptable diet helps them thrive in gardens and woodland alike.

## Are blue tits and great tits the same bird?
No. Blue tits and great tits are closely related but distinct species. The blue tit is smaller, weighing around 11 grams, with a blue cap and a yellow breast. The great tit is noticeably larger and bolder, with a glossy black head, white cheeks and a black stripe running down its yellow front. Both visit garden feeders and nest in boxes, often together.

## Do blue tits really open milk bottles?
Yes, historically they did. From the 1920s, blue tits in Britain learned to peck through the foil caps of doorstep milk bottles to reach the cream beneath, and the behaviour appeared to spread through local populations. It became one of ornithology's most cited examples of learning in wild birds. The habit faded as doorstep milk deliveries in glass bottles declined.

## How long do blue tits live?
Most blue tits live only a few years, and mortality is high among young birds in their first winter. However, individuals can live much longer: bird-ringing has recorded blue tits reaching around ten years of age in Britain, with the longevity record for the species standing at over eleven years. Survival depends heavily on winter weather and the availability of food.

## Will blue tits use a nest box?
Yes. Blue tits are natural cavity-nesters and take readily to garden nest boxes with a small entrance hole of about 25 millimetres, which excludes larger birds. A female lines the box with moss, hair and feathers and typically lays a large clutch in spring, raising a single brood timed to the seasonal abundance of caterpillars. Nest boxes are a reliable way to attract them.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/starling): Common Starling — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is a stocky, glossy black songbird native to Eurasia and North Africa, famous for vast swirling winter flocks called murmurations and for skilled vocal mimicry. Globally common and rated Least Concern, it has declined sharply in Britain and is UK Red-listed.

## Introduction
The common starling (Sturnus vulgaris), also called the European starling, is a stocky, medium-sized songbird native to Eurasia and North Africa and introduced widely across the world. Up close its dark plumage glitters with an iridescent green and purple sheen, speckled with pale stars in winter. Starlings are famous for two things: dazzling winter "murmurations", in which tens of thousands of birds wheel together in shifting clouds before roosting, and a remarkable gift for mimicry. Although still abundant worldwide and rated Least Concern by the IUCN, the starling has declined steeply in Britain and now sits on the UK Red List of birds of conservation concern.

## Takeaway
The common starling is globally abundant and rated Least Concern by the IUCN, yet has declined by more than 80% in the UK since the 1960s.

## Takeaway
Steep British and north-west European declines have placed it on the UK Red List of birds of conservation concern.

## Takeaway
Winter murmurations can involve hundreds of thousands of birds and occasionally more than a million, wheeling in unison before they roost.

## Takeaway
Starlings are accomplished mimics, weaving copied sounds, including other birds and mechanical noises, into their own warbling songs.

## Takeaway
Native to Eurasia and North Africa, the species was introduced to North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, where it is often considered invasive.

## Takeaway
It is not listed under CITES, as international trade is not a significant threat to the species.

## What does a starling look like and how do you identify it?
The common starling is a compact, short-tailed songbird roughly 19 to 23 centimetres long, with a wingspan of about 31 to 44 centimetres and a weight of around 58 to 101 grams, so a little smaller and dumpier than a blackbird. In flight it shows distinctive triangular, pointed wings and a fast, direct, arrow-like profile. At a distance starlings can look plain black, but in good light the plumage is richly iridescent, glossed with green and purple. Plumage changes with the seasons: in fresh winter feathering, pale buff and white tips create a heavily speckled, star-spangled appearance, while by spring these wear away to leave glossier breeding dress. The bill is a useful clue, turning bright yellow in the breeding season and darker outside it. Adults walk and run busily across lawns rather than hopping, often probing the turf for grubs. Juveniles are a duller greyish-brown and lack the spangling, which can confuse beginners. The voice is a chattering, wheezing medley of whistles, clicks and imitations, frequently delivered from a rooftop or aerial.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/starling): Common Starling — wildlife guide.

## Why do starlings form murmurations?
A murmuration is the swirling, shape-shifting cloud formed by starlings gathering at dusk before they settle to roost, typically in autumn and winter. Flocks may number from a few hundred to tens of thousands of birds, and exceptional gatherings have been estimated in the hundreds of thousands, with the largest figures cited reaching towards a million or more. The birds turn, ripple and condense in near-perfect coordination, with each individual responding to the movements of a handful of its closest neighbours, so that waves of motion sweep across the whole flock. Scientists think murmurations serve several purposes. Massing together offers safety in numbers, making it far harder for a hunting bird of prey such as a peregrine or sparrowhawk to single out one target, an effect sometimes called predator confusion. The gatherings may also help birds share warmth on cold nights and exchange information about good feeding sites. Whatever the precise mix of reasons, the spectacle is one of the natural world's great free shows, drawing watchers to reedbeds, piers and city centres on winter evenings across the starling's range.

## Can starlings really mimic sounds?
Yes. The common starling is one of the natural world's most accomplished vocal mimics. Its song is a long, rambling sequence of whistles, rattles, clicks, gurgles and warbles, and woven through it are imitations of other species and ambient sounds. Wild starlings copy the calls of other birds, and individuals have been recorded reproducing a sound they had apparently heard only once. In settings close to people, captive and urban birds have learned to imitate human-made noises, from car alarms and telephones to fragments of human speech. Males sing most, and a varied, complex song appears to help them attract mates and defend territory, so mimicry may serve as a kind of vocal display of fitness. The starling's talents put it in the company of other gifted avian mimics such as mockingbirds and lyrebirds. This adaptability of voice mirrors the bird's broader behavioural flexibility, which is part of why the species has spread and thrived across so many landscapes, even as it has declined in some of its native heartlands.

## Why is the starling declining if it is so common?
It is a striking paradox: the common starling remains one of the most numerous birds on the planet, yet in parts of its native range it has crashed. In the United Kingdom the breeding population fell by more than 80 percent between 1966 and 2004, a decline severe enough to place the species on the UK Red List of birds of conservation concern. Similar downward trends have been noted in several north-west European countries. The leading suspected cause is agricultural intensification, which has reduced the supply of the soil invertebrates, such as leatherjackets and other grubs, that adult starlings need to feed their chicks. Loss of permanent pasture, changes in farming practice and fewer nesting cavities in modern buildings and tidier landscapes are all thought to play a part. Because the global population is enormous and the bird is abundant where introduced, the IUCN still classifies the species as Least Concern overall. The contrast is a reminder that a healthy world total can mask serious regional losses, and that a familiar garden bird is not necessarily a secure one.

## WARN work
WARN does not run field projects specifically for the common starling, which is abundant across much of its global range and largely lives outside the countries where WARN's partners work partner countries. This guide is part of WARN's free public-education work, helping people understand and value the wildlife around them. The pressures behind the starling's regional decline, especially habitat loss and the disappearance of insect-rich farmland, are the same forces that threaten many of the animals WARN does protect on the ground.

## Donation hook
If guides like this deepen your appreciation of wildlife, a small gift helps WARN keep producing free education and protecting threatened animals where it works.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/starling): Common Starling — wildlife guide.

## Are starlings native to North America?
No. The common starling is native to Eurasia and North Africa. It was introduced to North America when birds were released in New York's Central Park in 1890. From that small founding population the species spread across the continent and is now one of North America's most abundant birds, where it is often regarded as an invasive species that competes with native cavity-nesting birds.

## What is a group of starlings called?
A flying flock of starlings performing its swirling, coordinated aerial display is called a murmuration. The word can also be used more generally for a group of starlings. These gatherings form mainly at dusk in autumn and winter as birds assemble before settling into a communal roost, and they can range from a few hundred birds to flocks numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

## What do starlings eat?
Starlings are omnivorous and opportunistic feeders. In the breeding season they rely heavily on soil invertebrates such as beetle grubs, leatherjackets, spiders and other insects, which they find by probing lawns and pasture. Outside breeding they also take seeds, grains, fruit, berries, nectar and human food scraps. This flexible diet is one reason the species adapts so well to farmland, gardens and towns.

## How long do starlings live?
Most wild common starlings live only a few years, with average lifespans typically around two to three years, as many young birds do not survive their first year. Individuals that make it past this vulnerable stage can live much longer, however, and the maximum recorded age for a wild common starling is nearly 23 years. Birds in captivity may also reach an advanced age.

## Why are starlings declining in the UK?
The UK breeding population fell by more than 80 percent between 1966 and 2004, earning the starling a place on the UK Red List of birds of conservation concern. The decline is linked chiefly to agricultural intensification, which has reduced the soil invertebrates that adults need to feed their chicks. Loss of permanent pasture and fewer nesting cavities are also thought to contribute to the fall.

## Are starlings good or bad for the environment?
It depends on context. Within its native Eurasian range the starling is a natural part of ecosystems and helps control invertebrate pests, yet it is declining and Red-listed in Britain. Where it has been introduced, such as North America and Australia, it can be a problematic invasive species, competing aggressively with native birds for nest holes and sometimes damaging crops, so it is widely managed as a pest there.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/buzzard): Common Buzzard — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a medium-large, broad-winged bird of prey and Britain's most common and widespread raptor. It soars in slow circles, gives a distinctive cat-like mewing call, and hunts small mammals, earthworms and carrion across farmland, woodland and moorland.

## Introduction
The common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a medium-large bird of prey and the most widespread raptor across Britain and much of Europe. Stocky and broad-winged, it is most often seen soaring in slow circles on rising warm air, or perched motionless on a fence post or bare branch scanning for prey. Its plumage is famously variable, ranging from dark chocolate-brown to almost creamy-white, usually with a pale band across the chest. The buzzard's far-carrying, cat-like "pee-yow" mewing call is one of the most recognisable sounds of open countryside. A patient, opportunistic hunter, it feeds largely on small mammals, earthworms and carrion, and has recovered strongly to recolonise much of its former range.

## Takeaway
The common buzzard is Britain's most common and widespread bird of prey, found in nearly every county.

## Takeaway
It is a broad-winged, stocky raptor best known for soaring in slow circles and giving a cat-like mewing call.

## Takeaway
Plumage is highly variable, from dark brown to pale cream, often with a paler chest band.

## Takeaway
It is a generalist predator, taking small mammals, birds, earthworms and carrion, with over 300 prey species recorded.

## Takeaway
Once heavily persecuted and reduced to the west and north, it has recovered to recolonise most of Britain since the late 20th century.

## Takeaway
Globally it is classified as Least Concern, with a large and stable to increasing population.

## What does a common buzzard look like?
The common buzzard is a medium-large raptor with a compact body, broad rounded wings and a relatively short, fanned tail. Adults typically measure 40-58 cm from bill to tail, with a wingspan of roughly 109-140 cm, and females are noticeably larger and heavier than males. The most striking feature is the variability of its plumage: individuals range from very dark, almost uniform chocolate-brown to pale, creamy birds with extensive white, and many show a paler band or 'necklace' across the breast. In flight the wings are held in a shallow V, the tips slightly upturned, and the tail is often spread into a fan. The underwing usually shows pale patches contrasting with darker margins, and the flight feathers are barred. The bill is hooked and dark-tipped with a yellow base, the legs and feet are yellow, and the eyes are dark. This combination of broad wings, short neck and rounded silhouette helps separate the buzzard from larger eagles and from the more angular, long-tailed kites and harriers.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/buzzard): Common Buzzard — wildlife guide.

## What does a buzzard eat and how does it hunt?
The common buzzard is a true generalist predator, and more than 300 prey species have been recorded across its range. The bulk of its diet is small mammals, especially voles, mice, rabbits and young hares, and in many regions vole abundance directly influences how many chicks a pair can raise. It also takes small and medium birds, reptiles, amphibians, large insects and, importantly, earthworms, which it gathers by walking over damp pasture. Carrion is a significant food source, particularly in winter, and buzzards are frequently seen feeding on roadkill and dead livestock. Hunting is typically unspectacular: the bird perches patiently on a post, pole or bare branch and drops onto prey it has spotted below, or quarters slowly over open ground. It will also soar and, less often, hover briefly in a headwind. This flexible, low-energy approach allows the buzzard to thrive in farmland, woodland edge, moorland and even the fringes of towns, wherever there is a mix of open hunting ground and trees or crags for nesting.

## Why has the buzzard become so common again?
For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries the buzzard was heavily persecuted across Britain, shot and poisoned on game estates and squeezed back into the wilder west and north. Numbers fell further in the 1950s when myxomatosis devastated the rabbit, a key prey, and when agricultural pesticides affected many birds of prey. From the late 20th century, however, the picture reversed dramatically. Legal protection, a decline in illegal persecution in many areas, the recovery of rabbit populations and the buzzard's own dietary flexibility allowed it to spread back eastwards across England. It is now found in nearly every part of the country and is widely regarded as the UK's most numerous bird of prey. The species' adaptability, its willingness to eat carrion and earthworms, and its tolerance of farmed landscapes have all helped. This recovery is a genuine conservation success story, though buzzards can still fall victim to illegal poisoning, collisions with vehicles and overhead lines, and localised persecution.

## WARN work
WARN does not run field projects dedicated specifically to the common buzzard, which is widespread and secure across Britain and Europe and largely outside the countries where WARN's partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational library, written to help people understand and value the wildlife around them. The threats that shaped the buzzard's story, habitat loss, poisoning and persecution, are the same pressures that endanger the raptors and other animals WARN's partners do protect on the ground.

## Donation hook
If this guide deepened your appreciation of birds of prey, a small gift helps keep WARN's wildlife education free and supports the animals our partners protect.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/buzzard): Common Buzzard — wildlife guide.

## Is a buzzard the same as a hawk?
In British usage a buzzard is a particular kind of broad-winged hawk in the genus Buteo, so it is a hawk in the broad sense but distinct from sparrowhawks and goshawks. Confusingly, in North America birds of the same genus are called 'hawks' (such as the red-tailed hawk), while 'buzzard' there usually refers to a vulture. The British 'buzzard' is a soaring raptor, not a vulture.

## What sound does a buzzard make?
The common buzzard's signature call is a loud, plaintive, cat-like mewing, often written as 'pee-yow' or 'peee-oo'. It carries a long way and is frequently heard from birds soaring high overhead, sometimes before the bird itself is spotted. Buzzards use the call in display, to keep contact with a mate, and when defending their territory, making it one of the most recognisable sounds of open countryside.

## How big is a common buzzard?
A common buzzard is a medium-large raptor, typically 40-58 cm long with a wingspan of about 109-140 cm. It is considerably smaller than an eagle but clearly larger and bulkier than a kestrel or sparrowhawk. As with most birds of prey, females are noticeably larger and heavier than males. Body weight varies widely by region and season, generally falling somewhere between roughly 0.4 and 1.4 kg.

## Do buzzards attack pets, livestock or people?
Buzzards very rarely pose any threat to people, and attacks on humans are exceptional, usually limited to a bird defending its nest from someone who has come too close. They mainly take small mammals, earthworms and carrion, so healthy cats, dogs and adult livestock are not realistic prey. Very small pets left unsupervised carry a tiny theoretical risk, but in practice buzzards avoid people and large animals.

## Where do buzzards live and nest?
Common buzzards live across most of Europe and into western and central Asia, with British birds present year-round in nearly every county. They favour a mix of open country for hunting, farmland, moorland, rough pasture, and woodland or scattered trees for nesting. Pairs build a bulky stick nest, often lined with green foliage, in a tall tree or occasionally on a crag, and frequently reuse and enlarge it over several years.

## Are buzzards protected and is their population safe?
Yes. The common buzzard is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, with a very large global population that is stable or increasing. In the UK it is fully protected by law, and after recovering from heavy historical persecution it is now the country's most common bird of prey. It is also listed on CITES Appendix II, which regulates international trade in the species and its parts.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/kingfisher): Common Kingfisher — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A kingfisher is a small, brilliantly coloured bird that hunts by diving headfirst into water for fish. The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) of Europe, Asia and North Africa is electric-blue above and orange below, with a long, dagger-like bill, and nests in tunnels dug into riverbanks.

## Introduction
The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is a small, vivid blue-and-orange bird of clear rivers, streams and lakes across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Barely larger than a sparrow, it perches over water and plunges headfirst to seize small fish in its long, dagger-shaped bill. Its dazzling colours come not from pigment but from the microscopic structure of its feathers, which scatter light. Despite the name, it belongs to a large, varied family (Alcedinidae) of more than a hundred kingfisher species worldwide, many of which do not eat fish at all. The common kingfisher is globally assessed as Least Concern, though it depends on clean water and can suffer in harsh winters.

## Takeaway
The common kingfisher is a small riverbank bird of Europe, Asia and North Africa that dives headfirst to catch small fish.

## Takeaway
Its glowing blue is a structural colour created by feather microstructure scattering light, not by blue pigment.

## Takeaway
It nests in tunnels excavated into vertical earth banks beside water.

## Takeaway
It belongs to a worldwide family of more than 100 kingfisher species, not all of which fish.

## Takeaway
Globally it is assessed as Least Concern, but it is sensitive to water pollution and freezes in cold winters.

## Takeaway
Clean rivers, stable banks and healthy fish stocks are the keys to its survival.

## What does a kingfisher look like and how big is it?
The common kingfisher is a compact, big-headed, short-tailed bird about 16-17 cm long, only a little larger than a house sparrow but heavier and more thickset. Its upperparts are an intense, shifting blue-green, with a brilliant electric-blue stripe down the back that flashes as the bird flies low and fast over water. The cheeks and underparts are a rich chestnut-orange, set off by a white throat and a white patch on each side of the neck. The bill is long, straight and dagger-shaped; females typically show an orange-red base to the lower bill, while the male's bill is all black, one of the few visible differences between the sexes. The legs and feet are short and bright red. Much of the colour is structural: tiny features in the feathers scatter and reflect blue light rather than relying on blue pigment, which is why the bird seems to change shade with the angle of view. Juveniles are similar to adults but duller, with greener upperparts and darker legs. In flight the kingfisher is unmistakable, often glimpsed only as a streak of blue vanishing along a stream.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/kingfisher): Common Kingfisher — wildlife guide.

## How does a kingfisher catch fish?
Kingfishers are sit-and-wait hunters. A bird will choose a low perch, a branch, reed or post overhanging clear, slow-moving water, and watch intently for prey below. When it spots a small fish near the surface, it dives in a fast, near-vertical plunge, folding its wings and entering the water with barely a splash. The eyes are protected as it strikes, and it seizes the fish in its bill rather than spearing it. Back on the perch, the bird often beats the fish against the branch to stun it before swallowing it head-first, so the fins fold flat. Where perches are scarce, a kingfisher can also hover briefly over open water before diving. Its diet is mainly small fish such as minnows and sticklebacks, supplemented by aquatic insects, larvae, tadpoles and freshwater shrimps. Clear water is essential: the bird hunts by sight, so silt, pollution or turbulence that clouds a river makes fishing difficult. A kingfisher may swallow many small fish a day, and the indigestible bones and scales are later coughed up as pellets, much as owls do.

## Where do kingfishers live and nest?
The common kingfisher is widespread across Europe, much of Asia and parts of North Africa, with several geographic races. It favours clear, slow-flowing or still fresh water, lowland rivers, streams, canals, lakes and ponds with overhanging perches and, crucially, vertical earth banks. In colder regions, populations may move to estuaries, sheltered coasts and unfrozen waters in winter, since the bird cannot fish through ice and hard winters can cause heavy losses. Kingfishers are strongly territorial, each defending a stretch of waterway, and pairs nest in a tunnel that they dig themselves into a steep, bare bank close to water. The burrow can be up to about a metre long and ends in a nesting chamber where the female lays a clutch of glossy white eggs, often six or seven. Both parents incubate and then ferry a steady stream of small fish to the growing chicks. In good conditions a pair may raise two or even three broods in a season, which helps the species recover quickly after the population crashes that follow severe winters.

## WARN work
WARN does not run field projects dedicated to the common kingfisher, which lives mostly outside the countries where WARN and its partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational mission to help people understand and value wild animals. The threats that shape the kingfisher's fortunes, polluted and silted rivers, lost wetlands and degraded banks, are the same pressures of habitat loss and water quality that affect many of the animals WARN does protect, so learning about one riverbank bird sheds light on the health of freshwater life everywhere.

## Donation hook
If this jewel of the riverbank brightened your day, a small gift helps keep WARN's free wildlife education flowing and supports the animals in our care.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/kingfisher): Common Kingfisher — wildlife guide.

## Is the common kingfisher endangered?
No. The common kingfisher is assessed by the IUCN as Least Concern, meaning it is not considered globally threatened, and it is not listed on CITES. It remains widespread across Europe, Asia and North Africa. However, it depends on clean, unpolluted water and natural banks for nesting, and local numbers can fall sharply after hard winters or where rivers are polluted or canalised.

## Why is the kingfisher so blue?
The kingfisher's vivid blue is mostly a structural colour, not a pigment. Microscopic structures in the feather barbs scatter and reflect blue light while absorbing other wavelengths, an effect similar to the way the sky appears blue. Because the colour depends on how light hits the feather, the same bird can look bright blue, green or turquoise as it shifts angle, which is why a kingfisher seems to glow and flicker in flight.

## What do kingfishers eat?
The common kingfisher eats mainly small fish, such as minnows and sticklebacks, caught by diving from a perch into clear water. It also takes aquatic insects and their larvae, freshwater shrimps, tadpoles and the occasional small crustacean. A kingfisher hunts by sight, so it needs clean, unclouded water to spot prey. Indigestible scales and bones are regurgitated later as small pellets, much like the pellets produced by owls.

## How does a kingfisher dive without hurting itself?
A kingfisher dives fast and near-vertically, folding its wings just before it hits the surface so it enters with little splash. It grabs the fish in its bill rather than spearing it. The bird's eyes are protected as it strikes, and it adjusts for the way water bends light so it can judge the true position of prey beneath the surface. It then carries the catch back to a perch to subdue and swallow it head-first.

## Where do kingfishers build their nests?
Kingfishers nest in tunnels they dig themselves into steep, bare earth banks beside rivers, streams or lakes. A pair excavates a burrow that can reach about a metre in length, ending in a chamber where the female lays a clutch of glossy white eggs, often six or seven. Both parents incubate and feed the chicks a constant supply of small fish. Stable, vegetation-free vertical banks are essential nesting habitat, which is one reason heavily engineered rivers can lose their kingfishers.

## How many kinds of kingfisher are there?
The kingfisher family, Alcedinidae, contains more than 100 species worldwide, found across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Americas. They are far more varied than the riverside fisher many people picture: some, like the laughing kookaburra of Australia, are large birds that hunt insects, reptiles and small mammals far from water. The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) is just one small, fish-eating member of this large and colourful group.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/heron): Grey Heron — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A heron is a long-legged, long-necked wading bird that hunts in shallow water; the grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is the familiar tall grey species of UK and European rivers, lakes and garden ponds, standing up to a metre high and catching fish and amphibians with its sharp bill.

## Introduction
The grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is a tall, long-legged wading bird and one of the most familiar large birds of British and European wetlands. Standing up to a metre high, it hunts by standing motionless in shallow water before striking down at fish, frogs and other small animals with its dagger-shaped bill. Grey herons are widespread across the Palearctic, from Scandinavia south to North Africa and east across Asia, and many people meet one at the edge of a river, canal, lake or even a garden pond, where the bird may help itself to ornamental fish. Adaptable and resilient, it is currently classed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

## Takeaway
The grey heron is a tall, grey, long-legged wading bird of UK and European wetlands, standing up to about a metre high.

## Takeaway
It hunts by standing still in shallow water and striking down at fish, frogs and other prey with a sharp, dagger-like bill.

## Takeaway
Grey herons are widespread across Europe, Africa and Asia and are common on rivers, canals, lakes and at garden ponds.

## Takeaway
They nest communally in treetop colonies called heronries, laying three to five eggs incubated for around 25 days.

## Takeaway
The IUCN lists the grey heron as Least Concern, with a large range and a generally stable population.

## Takeaway
It is not listed on CITES, and in the UK it is protected under wildlife legislation like other wild birds.

## What does a grey heron look like?
The grey heron is unmistakable: a tall, slim wading bird with a grey back and wings, a whitish head and neck, and a bold black stripe running back from the eye into a slender black plume. The underparts are pale, marked with dark streaking down the front of the neck, and the long, powerful bill is yellowish, brightening towards pinkish-orange in the breeding season. Adults stand up to around a metre tall and measure roughly 84–102 cm from bill to tail, with a broad wingspan of about 155–195 cm. Body weight ranges from a little over one kilogram to around two kilograms. In flight the grey heron is distinctive, holding its head drawn back in an S-shape against the shoulders rather than outstretched, with the long legs trailing behind and slow, deep, bowed wingbeats. This retracted-neck flight silhouette is one of the easiest ways to tell a heron from a crane or stork, which fly with the neck extended. Young birds are duller and greyer on the head, lacking the crisp black-and-white head pattern of the adult.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/heron): Grey Heron — wildlife guide.

## Where do grey herons live and what do they eat?
Grey herons are birds of fresh and coastal waters, found wherever there are shallow margins to hunt in: rivers, streams, canals, lakes, reservoirs, marshes, flooded fields, estuaries and garden ponds. The species ranges widely across the Palearctic, from Scandinavia south to Spain, North Africa and the Middle East and east across much of temperate Asia, with related populations reaching sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. In Britain and much of western Europe they are present year-round, though some northern birds move south in hard winters. The grey heron is a patient, opportunistic predator. Its core diet is fish and amphibians, but it also takes crustaceans, aquatic insects, small mammals such as voles and rats, reptiles, and occasionally young birds like ducklings. The classic hunting technique is to stand statue-still in shallow water, or to stalk forward very slowly, then stab or seize prey with a lightning-fast thrust of the neck and bill. This willingness to fish almost anywhere is why herons so readily visit ornamental ponds and take prized fish.

## How do grey herons breed and nest?
Grey herons are social nesters. They breed in colonies known as heronries, usually building large stick nests high in tall trees, though reedbeds, cliffs and bushes are sometimes used. In the UK breeding starts early, often from late winter, and the same heronries may be used for many years. A typical clutch is three to five pale blue-green eggs. Both the male and female share incubation, which lasts about 25 days, and both parents feed the chicks by regurgitation. The young remain in or around the nest for several weeks before fledging. Heronries can range from a single pair to dozens of nests clustered together, and the noisy, conspicuous gatherings are easy to spot once trees are bare. Outside the breeding season herons are more solitary, each bird often defending a favoured stretch of bank or shoreline. In the wild many grey herons live only a few years, with high mortality among young birds, but individuals can survive much longer; ringing records include birds living into their twenties.

## WARN work
World Animal Rescue Network does not run dedicated field projects for grey herons, which are common, widespread and classed as Least Concern, and live largely outside the countries where WARN's partners work partner countries. This guide is part of WARN's free educational work, written to help people understand and appreciate the wildlife around them. The threats that do affect herons locally, above all the loss, pollution and drainage of wetlands, are the same pressures that harm many of the rarer animals WARN does work to protect.

## Donation hook
If guides like this deepen your love of wildlife, supporting WARN helps keep this free educational work going and protects vulnerable animals elsewhere.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/heron): Grey Heron — wildlife guide.

## Is a grey heron a protected bird in the UK?
Yes. Like other wild birds in the UK, the grey heron and its nests and eggs are protected under wildlife legislation, so it is illegal to deliberately kill, injure or take the bird or to destroy an active nest. This means herons cannot simply be removed or harmed when they visit ponds; instead, pond owners are encouraged to use humane deterrents such as netting, cover and hiding places for fish.

## Why do herons stand on one leg?
Herons, like many long-legged wading and water birds, often rest on one leg. The most widely accepted explanation is heat conservation: tucking one leg up into the warm body feathers reduces heat loss through the bare leg, which is important for a bird that spends long periods standing in cold water. Standing on one leg may also simply be a comfortable resting posture, with the bird alternating legs to share the load.

## Do herons really eat fish from garden ponds?
Yes. Grey herons are opportunistic hunters and readily visit garden ponds, where they may take goldfish, koi and other ornamental fish, as well as frogs. A heron will often arrive at dawn, standing patiently at the pond edge before striking. Pond owners can reduce losses by adding netting or a grid over the water, providing deep areas and planting cover where fish can hide, rather than harming the bird.

## What is the difference between a heron and a crane or stork?
Herons, cranes and storks are all tall, long-legged birds, but they belong to different families and behave differently. The clearest difference is in flight: herons fly with the neck pulled back into an S-shape against the body, while cranes and storks fly with the neck stretched out straight. Grey herons are also strongly tied to water for hunting fish and amphibians, and they nest colonially in trees in structures called heronries.

## Where do grey herons go in winter?
In Britain and much of western Europe grey herons are present all year round and do not need to migrate. They are hardy birds that continue fishing through the colder months wherever water stays unfrozen. In harsh winters, however, frozen wetlands can be dangerous, and some birds from the colder north and east of the range move south or to the coast in search of open water. Severe, prolonged freezes can cause noticeable die-offs.

## Are grey heron numbers declining?
No, not at a global level. The IUCN classifies the grey heron as Least Concern, reflecting a very large range and a population that is broadly stable. Numbers can fluctuate locally, with hard winters causing temporary dips because frozen water makes hunting difficult. The main long-term pressures on herons are the loss, drainage and pollution of wetlands, the same habitat threats that affect many other water-dependent species worldwide.


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

## One-line answer
A duck is a waterbird in the family Anatidae — smaller and shorter-necked than its relatives the geese and swans. Ducks have a broad flat bill, webbed feet and waterproof feathers, live on fresh and salt water worldwide, and feed by dabbling at the surface or diving underwater.

## Introduction
A duck is a waterbird in the family Anatidae, the same family as geese and swans, but smaller and shorter-necked. "Duck" is not a single scientific group: it covers many species across several subfamilies, united by a broad flat bill, webbed feet and dense waterproof plumage. The most familiar is the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), a dabbling duck found across the Northern Hemisphere and the ancestor of almost all domestic ducks. Ducks live on fresh and salt water on every continent except Antarctica, feeding by dabbling at the surface or diving below it. Most common species are widespread and classed as Least Concern, though some specialised ducks are threatened by habitat loss.

## Takeaway
Ducks belong to the family Anatidae, alongside geese and swans, but are generally smaller and shorter-necked.

## Takeaway
The mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is the most familiar species and the ancestor of almost all domestic duck breeds.

## Takeaway
Dabbling ducks feed at the surface or by upending; diving ducks submerge fully and are usually heavier.

## Takeaway
Waterproof feathers, kept oiled by preening and an insulating layer of down, let ducks stay warm and dry on water.

## Takeaway
A male is a drake, a female a duck or hen, and the young are ducklings; many drakes moult into dull 'eclipse' plumage in summer.

## Takeaway
Most common ducks are classed as Least Concern, but some specialised species face pressure from habitat loss.

## What is a duck, and how does it differ from geese and swans?
A duck is a waterbird in the family Anatidae, which also contains geese and swans. There is no single "duck" group in scientific classification — the name is applied to many species spread across several subfamilies, and taxonomists still disagree on exactly how to divide them. What unites ducks is a familiar body plan: a broad, flattened bill, short legs set well back on the body, fully webbed front toes and dense, waterproof plumage. Compared with their relatives, ducks are generally smaller and noticeably shorter in the neck than the long-necked swans and geese. They also tend to have brighter, more patterned plumage, especially the males of Northern Hemisphere species. Ducks have a near-worldwide distribution, living on lakes, rivers, marshes, estuaries and coasts on every continent except Antarctica. Some, like the mallard, are at home almost anywhere there is water, including city parks; others are restricted to particular habitats such as fast rivers, sea coasts or tropical wetlands. This mix of a shared, recognisable form and great variety between species is exactly why "duck" is an everyday word rather than a precise scientific one.


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

## How do ducks feed — dabbling versus diving?
Ducks are usually split into two broad feeding groups. Dabbling ducks, such as the mallard, teal and wigeon, feed at or just below the surface. They skim food from the water, graze on land, or "upend" — tipping forward so the head and neck are underwater and the tail points to the sky — to reach plants and small animals just beneath the surface. Many strain water through comb-like ridges along the edge of the bill, called the pecten or lamellae, trapping seeds, insects and tiny aquatic creatures. Dabbling ducks can usually spring almost straight up off the water into flight. Diving ducks, including pochards, scaup and eiders, submerge completely and swim underwater to feed on plants, molluscs, crustaceans and fish. They are typically heavier and have legs set further back, which makes them powerful swimmers but means they often need a running take-off across the water before becoming airborne. Diet varies widely between species and seasons: many ducks eat more plant matter outside the breeding season and take more protein-rich invertebrates when laying eggs and raising young.

## Why are ducks so well adapted to life on water?
A duck's body is built for water. Its feathers are waterproof, kept that way by frequent preening: the duck draws its bill over its plumage, spreading oils and locking the feather barbs together so water runs off rather than soaking in. Beneath the outer feathers lies a thick layer of soft down that traps air and insulates against cold water — the same down long valued for filling quilts. Webbed feet act as paddles, and because the legs have little blood flow near the skin and a heat-exchange system in the circulation, ducks can stand on ice or swim in cold water without losing much body heat. Many ducks show strong differences between the sexes: in numerous Northern species the drake wears bright breeding colours while the female is mottled brown for camouflage on the nest. After breeding, drakes often moult into a dull "eclipse" plumage that resembles the female, and during this moult they briefly lose the power of flight while new wing feathers grow. A male is called a drake, a female a duck or hen, and the downy young are ducklings.

## Are ducks endangered?
For ducks as a whole, the honest answer is: it depends on the species. "Duck" covers dozens of species, and their conservation status ranges from extremely abundant to critically threatened. Many of the most familiar ducks are doing well. The mallard, for example, is assessed by the IUCN as Least Concern, with a population estimated at more than 17 million mature individuals across an enormous range — although even its numbers are noted as currently decreasing. Other widespread, adaptable species are similarly secure. At the other end of the scale, ducks restricted to small islands, single lakes or specialised wetlands can be highly vulnerable. Several species have become endangered or extinct because of habitat loss, drainage of wetlands, introduced predators, hunting pressure and hybridisation with introduced ducks. Because ducks depend so completely on wetlands, the draining and pollution of marshes, lakes and estuaries is the single biggest pressure on the group. Protecting and restoring healthy wetlands benefits not only the rarer ducks but the whole community of waterbirds, fish, amphibians and insects that share their world.


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

## WARN work
World Animal Rescue Network does not run field projects dedicated to wild ducks, which are widespread across the Northern Hemisphere and beyond, outside the countries where WARN's partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational library. The threats that affect specialised ducks most — wetland drainage, pollution and habitat loss — are the same pressures that harm many of the animals WARN's partners do protect, so understanding them helps the wider cause.

## Donation hook
If this guide helped you understand ducks a little better, a small gift helps keep WARN's free wildlife education growing and supports the animals its partners care for every day.


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

## What is the difference between a duck, a goose and a swan?
All three belong to the same family, Anatidae. Ducks are generally the smallest and shortest-necked, with flat bills suited to dabbling or diving. Geese are larger, with longer necks and a more upright, grazing build. Swans are the largest, with very long necks and mostly white plumage in familiar species. Size and neck length are the quickest ways to tell them apart.

## What is the most common type of duck?
The mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is the most familiar and widespread duck across the Northern Hemisphere. The drake has a glossy green head, white neck-ring and chestnut breast, while the female is mottled brown. Mallards thrive almost anywhere with water, from wild marshes to city park ponds, and are the ancestor of nearly all domestic duck breeds.

## Why do ducks not get wet or cold in the water?
Ducks waterproof their feathers by preening, spreading natural oils and zipping the feather barbs together so water runs off. Beneath the outer feathers, a thick layer of down traps air and insulates against cold. Their legs also have a heat-exchange system in the blood flow, so ducks lose very little body heat even when swimming in icy water or standing on ice.

## What do you call a male, female and baby duck?
A male duck is called a drake, a female is called a duck or a hen, and the young are ducklings. In many Northern Hemisphere species the drake has bright breeding plumage while the hen is mottled brown for camouflage on the nest. After breeding, drakes often moult into a duller 'eclipse' plumage that looks much like the female.

## What do ducks eat?
Ducks are omnivores with varied diets. Dabbling ducks like the mallard eat seeds, water plants, grasses, insects and small aquatic animals taken at or just below the surface, often by upending. Diving ducks feed underwater on plants, molluscs, crustaceans and fish. Many ducks eat more plant matter outside the breeding season and take more protein-rich invertebrates when laying eggs and raising young.

## Are ducks endangered?
It depends on the species. Many familiar ducks, such as the mallard, are classed by the IUCN as Least Concern and remain abundant. However, ducks restricted to small islands or specialised wetlands can be endangered or even extinct, mainly because of wetland drainage, pollution, introduced predators and hunting. Since all ducks depend on healthy wetlands, protecting those habitats is key to their future.


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

## One-line answer
A goose is a large, social grazing waterfowl in the family Anatidae, split mainly into grey and white geese (Anser) and black geese (Branta). Bigger than ducks, geese feed on grass, form lifelong pair bonds and migrate long distances in energy-saving V-formations.

## Introduction
A goose is a large, social waterfowl in the family Anatidae, grouped chiefly into the grey and white geese (genus Anser) and the black geese (genus Branta). Bigger than ducks but smaller than swans, geese are built for grazing: they crop grasses, sedges and crops with a strong, serrated bill and spend much of their time walking on land. Many species are powerfully migratory, travelling in the famous V-shaped skeins that save energy and keep the flock together. Geese form strong, long-lasting pair bonds and raise broods of downy goslings. The greylag goose (Anser anser) is the ancestor of most domestic breeds, while the Canada goose (Branta canadensis) is a familiar park resident across much of the Northern Hemisphere.

## Takeaway
Geese are large grazing waterfowl, classed mainly in the grey/white genus Anser and the black genus Branta within the duck family Anatidae.

## Takeaway
They fly in V-shaped formations that conserve energy and help the flock stay in contact during long migrations.

## Takeaway
Geese are largely herbivorous grazers, cropping grass, leaves, grain and aquatic plants, though they take some small invertebrates too.

## Takeaway
Most pair for life and defend territory only during the short nesting season, when they raise downy goslings.

## Takeaway
The greylag goose is the wild ancestor of most domestic goose breeds, kept by people for thousands of years.

## Takeaway
Common species such as the greylag and Canada goose are listed as Least Concern, and resident Canada geese are often treated as urban pests.

## What does a goose look like, and how is it different from a duck or swan?
Geese are medium-to-large waterfowl that sit between ducks and swans in size. A greylag goose measures roughly 74-91 cm long with a wingspan of about 147-180 cm, while a large Canada goose can reach 75-110 cm with a wingspan up to around 185 cm. They have long necks (though shorter than a swan's), heavy bodies, broad wings and webbed feet, and a stout, deep-based bill with serrated edges suited to gripping and cropping vegetation. Compared with ducks, geese are bigger, longer-necked and spend far more time grazing on land; both sexes usually share similar plumage, unlike the bright drakes of many ducks. Plumage varies by group: Anser geese tend to be grey-brown or white with pink or orange bills and legs, while Branta geese, such as the Canada and barnacle goose, are boldly patterned in black, white and grey. Swans, by contrast, are larger again, with very long necks and almost always all-white or all-black adult plumage.


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

## Why do geese fly in a V-formation?
The V, or skein, is one of the most recognisable sights in the bird world, and it is a feat of aerodynamics. As each goose flaps, its wingtips shed swirling vortices of air; birds flying slightly behind and to the side can ride the rising part of that wake, gaining lift and reducing the effort needed to stay aloft. By trailing one another in a staggered line, the flock as a whole saves energy on long journeys. The formation also aids communication and lets every bird keep its flock-mates in view, which matters when migrations can span continents. Geese share the demanding lead position and rotate through it, and much of a migration is actually spent resting at traditional stopover sites, where birds refuel and build fat reserves before the next leg. Young geese learn these routes and stopovers from their parents, so migratory knowledge is passed down the generations rather than being purely instinctive.

## What do geese eat and how do they live?
Geese are primarily herbivores and dedicated grazers. They feed chiefly on grasses, sedges, leaves, roots, aquatic plants and agricultural grain such as wheat, corn and rice, using the serrated edges of their bills to tear and crop vegetation. Some species also take small quantities of insects, molluscs, crustaceans and occasionally tiny fish, especially when feeding goslings that need protein to grow. Socially, geese are strongly bonded: most are monogamous and stay together as pairs throughout the year, becoming territorial mainly during the short nesting season. They nest on the ground near water, and both parents help guard the brood of goslings, which can walk and feed themselves soon after hatching. Outside the breeding season geese gather in large, noisy flocks, and a group has many traditional names: a gaggle on the ground, and a skein, team or wedge in flight. Their loud honking calls help coordinate these flocks and warn of danger.

## Are geese endangered, or are some a nuisance?
Most familiar geese are not threatened. Widespread species such as the greylag goose and the Canada goose are assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN, with large, often increasing populations. In fact, the opposite problem is more common in towns and cities: non-migratory Canada geese, which stay put where winters are mild and predators few, are widely regarded as pests. Their droppings foul parks and waterways, they graze and trample crops and amenity grass, they can be noisily aggressive when nesting, and they readily beg for food. Management can involve hazing, egg treatment to limit breeding, and culling. Not every goose is so secure, though. Some species and local populations face pressure from habitat loss, drainage of wetlands, hunting and disturbance, and a few island or specialist geese have small ranges. The broad pattern is that adaptable, generalist geese thrive alongside people, while more specialised wetland species depend on the health of the marshes, estuaries and tundra they need.

## WARN work
World Animal Rescue Network (WARN) does not run field projects specifically for wild geese, which range mainly outside the countries where our partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational work, helping people understand and value the wildlife around them. The threats that affect vulnerable wetland geese, above all the loss and drainage of wetlands, also harm many of the animals WARN does help to protect.

## Donation hook
If this guide helped you see geese a little differently, a small gift helps keep WARN's free wildlife education and animal-protection work going.


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

## What is the difference between a goose and a duck?
Geese and ducks are both in the family Anatidae, but geese are larger, with longer necks and heavier bodies. Geese are dedicated grazers that spend much of their time feeding on grass and crops on land, while many ducks feed more in water. In geese, both sexes usually look alike, unlike the often brightly coloured drakes among ducks.

## What is a male goose, a female goose and a baby goose called?
A male goose is called a gander, an adult female is simply called a goose, and a young goose is a gosling. Collectively the word geese is the plural. Goslings are covered in down and can walk, swim and feed themselves within a day or so of hatching, staying close to both parents, who help guard the brood until it can fly.

## Why do geese fly in a V-shape?
Flying in a V, or skein, saves energy. Each beating wing throws off swirling air, and birds positioned behind and to the side ride the rising part of that wake, gaining extra lift. The formation also helps the flock communicate and keep one another in sight on long migrations. Geese share and rotate through the tiring lead position at the point of the V.

## What do geese eat?
Geese are mainly herbivores and graze on grasses, sedges, leaves, roots and aquatic plants, as well as agricultural grain such as wheat, corn and rice. They use the serrated edges of their bills to crop vegetation. Some also take small amounts of insects, molluscs and other invertebrates, particularly when feeding fast-growing goslings that need extra protein.

## Are geese dangerous or aggressive?
Geese are not generally dangerous to people, but they can be aggressive, especially during the nesting season when defending a mate, nest or goslings. A defensive goose may hiss, lower its head, flap its wings and chase or nip an intruder. Such encounters are usually about warning you off rather than causing real harm. Keeping a respectful distance from nesting birds avoids most conflict.

## Where do geese live?
Geese are found across much of the world, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere. Grey and white geese (genus Anser) breed widely across Europe and Asia, while black geese (genus Branta), including the Canada goose, are strongly associated with North America. Geese favour wetlands, lakes, rivers, estuaries, grasslands and farmland, and many now thrive in urban parks where food and safety are plentiful.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/puffin): Atlantic Puffin — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A puffin is a small North Atlantic seabird of the auk family, best known as the Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica). Nicknamed the "sea parrot" for its large, colourful striped bill, it nests in clifftop burrows in summer and spends the winter alone far out at sea.

## Introduction
The Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) is a small, stocky seabird of the auk family, instantly recognised by its black-and-white plumage and a large, brightly striped bill that has earned it the nickname "sea parrot". It breeds in dense colonies on cliffs and grassy islands around the North Atlantic, from Iceland and Norway to Britain, Ireland, Canada and Greenland, nesting in burrows it digs or borrows. Outside the breeding season it lives entirely at sea, where its colourful bill plates are shed to a duller grey. Superb at swimming and diving, the puffin "flies" underwater to catch small fish. The IUCN lists it as Vulnerable, with European numbers in worrying decline.

## Takeaway
The Atlantic puffin is one of three puffin species worldwide, alongside the tufted puffin and horned puffin of the North Pacific.

## Takeaway
Its famous orange-and-grey bill is a breeding ornament: the bright outer plates are moulted away in winter, leaving a smaller, duller beak.

## Takeaway
Puffins nest in burrows on cliffs and offshore islands, laying a single egg and spending the rest of the year out at sea.

## Takeaway
They feed mainly on small shoaling fish such as sand eels, capelin and herring, diving and 'flying' underwater to catch them.

## Takeaway
The IUCN classes the species as Vulnerable, with European populations projected to fall sharply this century.

## Takeaway
Iceland holds roughly 60% of all Atlantic puffins, making the North Atlantic islands globally important strongholds.

## What does an Atlantic puffin look like?
The Atlantic puffin is a compact, rounded seabird about 28-30 cm long with a wingspan of roughly 47-63 cm, typically weighing between 400 and 650 grams depending on region. Its plumage is sharply patterned: glossy black above and across a broad collar, with clean white underparts and pale grey face discs. Short orange legs and webbed feet complete the look. The defining feature is the bill. In the breeding season it becomes large, flattened and vividly coloured — slate-grey at the base, then a band of yellow, and bright orange-red towards the tip — framed by fleshy yellow rosettes at the gape. This brilliant beak is essentially a seasonal ornament. After breeding, the outer horny plates are shed during a moult, leaving a smaller, narrower and far duller bill for the winter. Males and females look alike, though males average slightly larger. In flight, puffins beat their small wings furiously, reaching high speeds but appearing to whirr rather than glide.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/puffin): Atlantic Puffin — wildlife guide.

## Where do puffins live and breed?
Atlantic puffins are birds of the cold and temperate North Atlantic. They breed in colonies on coastal cliffs and offshore islands, choosing grassy slopes and turf where they can excavate or occupy burrows. Iceland is the single most important country, holding around 60% of the world population, with other major colonies in Norway, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Atlantic Canada, including Newfoundland. In Britain and Ireland, well-known colonies include the Farne Islands off Northumberland and Skomer Island off Wales, where birds return to land each spring. A pair typically reuses the same burrow year after year, digging a tunnel up to a metre or more long and lining a nest chamber at the end. Puffins are highly faithful both to their colony and to their partner. Once the breeding season ends in late summer, they abandon land entirely and disperse across the open ocean, spending the entire winter at sea, often hundreds of kilometres from any coast, before returning the following year.

## What do puffins eat and how do they raise their young?
Puffins are pursuit-diving predators that feed almost exclusively on small fish. Favoured prey includes sand eels, herring, capelin and sprats, supplemented by some zooplankton. A puffin swims fast underwater using its wings for propulsion and its feet to steer, reaching considerable depths and staying submerged for up to a minute. Its specialised bill and backward-pointing spines on the tongue and palate let it hold several small fish crosswise at once, so a parent can carry a full beak-load back to the burrow without dropping its catch. Each pair lays a single white egg, which both adults incubate. The chick, known as a 'puffling', is fed in the safety of its burrow until it is ready to leave, when it departs alone at night and makes its own way to the sea. Puffins are long-lived birds that do not begin breeding until they are four or five years old, a slow life history that makes colonies sensitive to poor breeding seasons and adult losses.

## Why are puffin numbers falling?
Despite a large global population, the Atlantic puffin is classified as Vulnerable because of steep, sustained declines in its European stronghold, where most of the world's birds breed. The IUCN notes that the European population is projected to fall by roughly half or more across the first two-thirds of this century. The core problem is food. Puffins depend on small shoaling fish, especially sand eels, and warming seas and shifting ocean conditions are reducing the availability and quality of this prey near many colonies. When parents cannot find enough fish, chicks starve in the burrow and breeding fails. Climate change drives much of this disruption, but puffins also face pressures from severe storms, marine pollution and oil spills, fishing that competes for the same fish stocks, and introduced predators such as rats on once-safe islands. Because puffins are slow to mature and rear just one chick a year, populations recover only slowly, so several poor seasons in a row can cause lasting decline.

## WARN work
World Animal Rescue Network does not run field projects specifically for Atlantic puffins, which breed far from the countries where WARN's partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational work, helping people understand the wildlife that shares our planet. The threats that drive puffins towards decline — habitat disturbance, pollution and a changing climate — are the same pressures that affect the animals WARN does protect.

## Donation hook
If this guide deepened your love of wildlife, supporting WARN's educational and rescue work helps protect animals facing these very same threats.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/puffin): Atlantic Puffin — wildlife guide.

## Is a puffin a penguin?
No. Puffins and penguins are not closely related and live in different hemispheres. Puffins are seabirds of the auk family from the North Atlantic and North Pacific, and they can fly. Penguins are a separate group of flightless birds found mainly in the Southern Hemisphere. The resemblance is superficial — both have black-and-white plumage and dive for fish, an example of similar lifestyles producing similar looks.

## How many types of puffin are there?
There are three puffin species. The Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) lives across the North Atlantic, while the tufted puffin and the horned puffin are both North Pacific birds. The tufted puffin is darker with long golden head plumes in summer, and the horned puffin most closely resembles the Atlantic puffin but has a small fleshy 'horn' above each eye. All three nest in colonies and dive for fish.

## Why is the puffin's beak so colourful?
The puffin's bright orange, yellow and grey bill is a breeding ornament, used in courtship and display. It is at its most colourful during the spring and summer breeding season. Afterwards the outer horny plates of the bill are shed in a moult, leaving a smaller, duller beak for winter at sea. Studies have also shown puffin bills can fluoresce under ultraviolet light, hinting at signals we cannot easily see.

## Where can I see puffins in the UK?
Atlantic puffins breed at several well-known British and Irish colonies during spring and summer, roughly April to August. Famous sites include the Farne Islands off Northumberland and Skomer Island off the Welsh coast, along with colonies in Scotland and on coastal cliffs elsewhere. Outside this season puffins live far out at sea and are very hard to spot from land, so summer is by far the best time to watch them.

## What is a baby puffin called?
A baby puffin is called a puffling. It hatches from a single egg deep inside the nesting burrow, where both parents feed it on small fish until it is ready to fledge. The puffling typically leaves the burrow alone at night and heads straight out to sea, without its parents. It will then spend several years at sea before returning to a colony to breed for the first time.

## How long do puffins live?
Atlantic puffins are long-lived seabirds. They do not start breeding until they are about four or five years old, and many individuals go on to live for well over a decade, with ringed birds recorded surviving into their twenties and beyond. This slow life history, combined with raising just one chick a year, means populations grow slowly and are sensitive to years of poor breeding or high adult mortality.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/opossum): Virginia Opossum — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
An opossum (Didelphis virginiana, the Virginia opossum) is North America's only native marsupial — a cat-sized, pouched mammal with a pointed snout, grasping prehensile tail and grey-white fur. It is famous for "playing dead", eating ticks and pests, and resisting many snake venoms.

## Introduction
The Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is North America's only native marsupial — a cat-sized pouched mammal more closely related to kangaroos than to rats. Famous for "playing possum", a long grasping tail and an opportunistic appetite, it ranges from Central America across much of the United States and into southern Canada. Females carry tiny, undeveloped young in a fur-lined pouch, then on their backs once they outgrow it. Opossums are quiet, mostly solitary night-foragers that thrive in woodland, farmland and increasingly in towns and gardens. Often misunderstood, they are gentle, beneficial neighbours that eat ticks, slugs, carrion and pests, and they are listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

## Takeaway
The Virginia opossum is the only marsupial native to North America, carrying its young in a pouch like its distant kangaroo relatives.

## Takeaway
"Playing possum" is an involuntary, fear-induced faint — not a clever trick — during which the animal may appear and even smell dead.

## Takeaway
Opossums are valuable neighbours: they eat ticks, slugs, snails, insects, carrion, rodents and fallen fruit, helping keep gardens tidy.

## Takeaway
They show natural resistance to the venom of many North American pit vipers, including rattlesnakes and copperheads.

## Takeaway
Their prehensile tail and opposable rear "thumbs" make them nimble climbers, though adults rarely hang by the tail for long.

## Takeaway
Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, the species is widespread, adaptable and expanding its range northward.

## What is an opossum, and is it the same as a possum?
An opossum is a marsupial — a mammal that gives birth to tiny, embryonic young that finish developing in a pouch — and the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) is the only species native to North America. In everyday North American speech it is almost always shortened to "possum", so the two words usually mean the same animal. Strictly, though, the true possums are an entirely separate group of marsupials found in Australia, New Guinea and nearby islands; they are only distantly related. About the size of a domestic cat, the Virginia opossum has coarse greyish-white fur, a pale pointed face, naked black ears, a long pink snout and a distinctive scaly, nearly hairless prehensile tail. Its hind feet bear an opposable, clawless "thumb" that helps it grip branches. With around 50 teeth, it has more than any other land mammal in North America, which it bares in a wide, hissing gape when threatened — usually pure bluff from an animal that would rather flee or faint than fight.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/opossum): Virginia Opossum — wildlife guide.

## Why do opossums 'play dead'?
"Playing possum" is the behaviour that gives the animal its reputation, but it is not a calculated ruse. When an opossum is badly frightened and cannot escape, it can drop into an involuntary, comatose-like state — a reflex similar to fainting — that can last from minutes to a few hours. The animal keels over, its eyes glaze, its tongue lolls, its breathing and heart rate slow, and glands near the tail release a foul, decay-scented fluid. To a predator expecting live, struggling prey, the opossum convincingly seems like an unappetising corpse. Because it is a reflex rather than a decision, the opossum cannot simply choose to "wake up" and snap out of it on cue. More often, a startled opossum will first try to bluff its way out: it gapes to show its many teeth, hisses, drools and growls. Only when this bluster fails does the faint kick in. The strategy works well enough that this slow, mild-mannered animal has persisted for tens of millions of years.

## What do opossums eat, and are they good for the garden?
Opossums are true omnivores and enthusiastic opportunists, eating almost anything they can find. Their menu includes insects, slugs, snails, worms, beetles, small rodents, frogs, eggs, carrion, fallen fruit, nuts and the contents of unsecured compost or bins. This scavenging habit makes them useful clean-up crew in gardens, smallholdings and woodland, removing rotting matter and garden pests that many people would rather not see. Opossums are widely noted for eating ticks they encounter while grooming, which can help reduce local tick numbers, although the scale of this benefit varies. They also have a strong natural resistance to the venom of many North American pit vipers, such as rattlesnakes and copperheads, thanks to compounds in their blood — a trait that has drawn scientific interest. Because they are immune or highly resistant to rabies far more often than most mammals (their low body temperature is thought to play a role), encounters with opossums carry comparatively little disease risk. The kindest response to a garden visitor is simply to secure rubbish and let it move on.

## How do opossums raise their young?
As marsupials, opossums have an extraordinary early life. After a gestation of only about 13 days, a female gives birth to a litter of bee-sized, blind, hairless newborns — sometimes more than a dozen. Each must crawl unaided through the mother's fur to reach her pouch, latch onto one of the available teats, and continue developing there for weeks. Only those that secure a teat survive, so litter size is effectively limited by the pouch. As the young, called joeys, grow too large for the pouch, they ride clinging to the mother's back as she forages. They become independent within a few months. Opossums live fast and die young: they reach breeding age within a year and rarely survive much beyond one or two years in the wild, falling prey to vehicles, owls, foxes, dogs and cold winters that can frostbite their thin ears and tail. High reproductive output offsets these short, hazardous lives, helping keep populations stable and even expanding their range northward.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/opossum): Virginia Opossum — wildlife guide.

## WARN work
World Animal Rescue Network does not run field projects specifically for the Virginia opossum, which lives across the Americas — outside the countries where WARN's partners work. This guide is part of WARN's free educational mission to help people understand and live alongside wildlife. The threats opossums face — vehicle collisions, habitat loss, persecution from misunderstanding, and harsh weather — are the same pressures that bear down on the animals WARN does protect, so accurate, compassionate information about every species supports that wider goal.

## Donation hook
If this guide helped you see the humble opossum a little more kindly, you can help fund free wildlife education and the hands-on rescue work it supports.