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Exotic-looking bird in your garden?

Have you seen an unfamiliar bird in the area that looks a bit on the tame side or seems too exotic to be British and you can't find it in your guide to British birds? This site may help. This website is dedicated to all the birds of the world that have spent some time roaming free in the British countryside having escaped or been deliberately released from human confinement. If you have a rough idea of what family it is in take a look under the sections Ostrich to Pelicans, Vultures to Crows or Waxwing to Finches, otherwise look down Category E and D. (There are currently (Jan 2025) only 2 species on D that are not also on E).

BRIT-ish Birds

The BOURC maintains the British List which documents all the birds that have graced these shores naturally and it includes vagrants from North America and the far east of Asia. The BOURC maintains Categories D and E which are reserved for those species that had (or probably had) some help in arriving in Britain. For a list of the birds that made it here under their own steam, go to the British List. Species on Categories D & E don't form part of the British List (unless they are also on Category A, B or C) and they don't generally appear in field guides to the birds of Britain and Europe.

Category D

Sometimes it is hard or impossible to know for sure, how a particular bird made it here. Where there is any doubt that an individual of a species not normally considered regular in Britain, has occurred naturally, but it cannot be definitively confirmed one way or another, category D comes into its own. Records on category D are regularly reconsidered with the intention of assigning them either to the British List or to category E.

Category E

As explained in more detail on the BOU page, category E is a list of the birds that have been seen in the wild in Britain but which do not form part of the "British List" because they got here with assistance from man and are not able to sustain themselves as a wild population. In some cases they have bred in the wild but not sustainably so. Those that have bred are delimited with an * .

Note that the BOU and this site only covers birds recorded in Britain i.e England, Scotland and Wales (and associated waters) and does not cover Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man nor the Channel Isles.

Escapes!

To a large extent, species on category E are ignored and many go unreported. Birders' interest lies in the species that they can tick off and category E species don't count. "Escapes" are often derided and when they are reported to the county ornithological societies, they get a small mention at the back end of the species accounts in the annual reports. Species assigned to category D could be there for some time or new information could come to light at any time which will determine the species' fate and it will be moved to a 'permanent' category. (All species are reviewed as appropriate when new information comes to light).

I've Seen one!!

Report it! Tell your county recorder by whatever means they welcome, or use the BTO's BirdTrack system and the record will be passed on (if you agree) to the recorder.

It would be best to let people know whilst the bird is still present, if possible but always try to get a photo - even a poor quality one can be enough to verify the identity. I wouldn't be worried about hordes of twitchers clogging up your street - most birders aren't interested in escaped birds.

There is a potential for escaped birds to meet up, breed and colonise their adopted habitat. It happens - these are on Category C, so monitoring the whereabouts and numbers of BRIT-ish Birds is important. Like the Rose-ringed Parakeet, they can become invasive and may compete with native species.

BOURC and the JNCC

Having responsibility for the British List, the BOURC is required to review those non-native species that may establish self-sustaining populations and be eligible for elevation to Category C. BOURC reviews available data relating to Category E* species (i.e. those species that have escaped or been released and have bred in the wild) to determine whether a species can be considered ‘self-sustaining’. BOURC, together with the Rare Breeding Birds Panel (RBBP), urges observers to submit records of non-native species to county recorders.

This site includes some species that don't appear on the BOURC's lists but which have nevertheless been reliably identified (as far as I know) in the wild.

Sources

The British List. https://www.bou.org.uk/british-list/

Non-native breeding birds in the UK, 2012-14. British Birds 110 February 2017.

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to all who have made their images available via Creative Commons, without whom this site would have no pictures. I have taken care to credit the correct photographer, but if you find a mistake, please let me know and I will correct it post-haste.