Discover the 12 Most Beautiful Bird Songs Found in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom puts high up on the list of locations worldwide to hear stunning bird tunes. In reality, our leading 4 make the list of the 10 most stunning bird tunes worldwide!

The American Bird Conservatory (ABC) boasts a list of almost 150 birds categorized as songbirds. How numerous remain in the U.K.? Well, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) released a list on June 14th, 2022 that consisted of 628 songbird types. Not just is the United Kingdom an excellent location to see and hear stunning bird tunes, however the island nation declares among the biggest range of songbird types worldwide!

General Songbird Information

Let’s response a couple of concerns about songbirds prior to carrying on to our list. You’ll need to check out to the end to discover what bird takes the top area!

Why Do Songbirds Sing?

Birds sing for 2 main factors: to protect their area and to draw in a mate. This stunning interaction in between birds informs how in shape they are and how well they can look after a mate and the young. A bird with a strong voice is thought about to be a much better mate.

When Is the Best Season to Hear Birds Songs In the U.K.?

The finest time to hear these stunning bird tunes remains in late winter season and early spring. This is when birds are most active and looking for mates. Summer is a poor time to hear birds sing in this location since this is when the majority of the child birds, or recentlies established, begin to leave the nest.

What Is the Best Time of Day to Hear Bird Songs?

Generally speaking, the majority of songbirds are extremely active in the morning, right before the sun starts to increase. This is the time of day when there is less background sound and activity. The birds are generally up prior to their predators and can securely sing without concern. As the day endures and the world awakens, birds turn their ideas to food and nesting. However, some birds do sing a night!

Our Top 12 Most Beautiful Bird Songs in the U.K.

Now that we’ve discovered a little bit more about songbirds, let’s begin our list!

An essential note for this list is that we will talk about where to discover these birds within the U.K. They might likewise be discovered in other places worldwide, too.

#12: Dunnock

The dunnock is a small, light brown bird with a blue-gray head and darker brown stripes. Adults weigh 18.6–24.0 grams. Breeding pairs produce 4-5 eggs per clutch and 2-3 clutches per year. They sing their lively, sweet bird song in Scotland, Ireland, and Britain. This bird is in the amber group (of moderate concern) on the U.K. Birds of Conservation Concern list (currently the BOCC5). The dunnock breeding population decreased by 38 percent from 1967 to 2020.

#11: European Goldfinch

The European goldfinch is an absolutely beautiful bird. Their light, golden-brown back is highlighted by black and yellow wing stripes, along with a bright red face. Their white belly further compliments the look. These birds are highly prized for their looks and their beautiful, upbeat song. In fact, they are often illegally sold as pets. This songbird calls Britain and Ireland it’s home. Adults weigh in at 14–18 grams and pairs produce 2-3 clutches each season, usually with five eggs each. The BOCC5 lists the European goldfinch as green (of the least concern).

#10: Curlew

The curlew is a considerably larger bird than others on our list, with adults weighing 660–1000 grams. These birds have long legs and a long bill that they use for hunting insects in the tall grass. They have a light brown body with darker, chocolate-brown stripes. Curlews lay only one clutch each season, typically with four eggs. The BOCC5 lists these birds as red (of highest concern). The curlew lives in Britain and Ireland. This species suffered a loss to the breeding population of 48 percent between 1995 and 2020, a relatively short timeframe compared to others. Some say the curlew bird song is a haunting one.

#9: Turtle Dove

Made famous by the Christmas song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, the turtle dove’s gentle, cooing bird song is very soothing. These songbirds display many colors on their body; white, reddish-brown, orange-brown, light blue, black, and gray. Adults weigh 133–181 grams. Also on the BOCC5 listed as red, this species suffered a dramatic population decrease of 99 percent between 1967 and 2020. While they produce 2-3 clutches each season, each contains only two eggs. Turtle doves now only live in the eastern part of England. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN) placed them on their red list in 2015. This is one of the few birds on our list that is also listed by ICUN.

#8: European Robin

Another famous bird, the European robin makes its home widely throughout Ireland and Britain. The American robin is named after this songbird due to the similarly bright-colored chest, though they have no relation. This beautiful honey-brown bird sports a vibrant orange chest and a white belly. One of the smaller birds on our list, adults weigh 15.5–22.8 grams. They produce 2-3 clutches per season with 4-5 eggs each. This species is green-listed by BOCC5. Their song is high and bright.

#7: Skylark

The popular song, Skylark, was originally recorded by Gene Krupa and His Orchestra on November 25, 1941. This song’s beautiful beginning music pays tribute to the real-life bird. It has been covered many times by various other artists and more than 700 versions exist. The skylark is one of the most celebrated and well-known species around the world. Though famous for their song and the song about them, there is nothing special about their looks. This is a simple light brown bird with darker brown stripes.

Unfortunately, they are also another songbird listed red on BOCC5, with their population decreasing 15 percent between 1995 and 2020. This, again, is a much shorter time span than others on the list. Adults weigh 32.6–44.8 grams and can produce up to four clutches a year with 3-4 eggs each. However, the decline in population is largely attributed to the change to harvesting crops in autumn instead of spring. That’s because this takes away the species’ food sources for winter. The skylark’s bird song is long and trills up and down.

#6: Mistle Thrush

The mistle thrush often sings after windy and rainy weather, which earned it the folk name, stormcock. The largest of the thrush species in the U.K., adults weigh 108–145 grams. They produce 2-3 clutches a year with about four eggs each. This songbird lives in Britain and Ireland, except for the Northern and Western Isles. Another red-listed species, this bird species’ population dropped 58 percent between 1967 and 2020. The mistle thrush is another brown and white bird, but they have a beautiful spotted chest and belly. Their bird song is light and comes in spurts.

#5: Woodlark

Yet another simple light brown bird with darker brown markings, the woodlark isn’t much to look at. Their bird song, however, is quite lovely to hear. It has long soft notes. Thankfully, BOCC5 lists them as green. These small birds are rather heavy for their size, with adults reaching 23–35 grams. Each pair produces 2-3 clutches a year and 3-5 eggs in each. The songbird species is distributed throughout the U.K. in patches but is not found in Ireland.

#4: Song Thrush

From 1967 to 2020, the song thrush population decreased by 49 percent. However, the BOCC5 lists them as amber. This bird song is one of chirps and whistles. They are most often heard singing in the early morning and when night begins to fall. Most who know this bird think of its unique eating habits, that is smashing snails into rocks to crack the shell. People whose garden is home to these birds frequently discover piles of these broken shells.

These songbirds are very widespread throughout the U.K. and can be found anywhere there are bushes and trees. They are typically dark brown on top with a lighter belly spotted with dark brown. They also have some golden highlights around the neck and face. Adults grow to 64.0–90.0 grams and produce 2-3 clutches a year. The clutches typically contain four eggs.

#3: Blackcap

The blackcap is sometimes called the northern nightingale due to the similarities of their songs. Their fluting bird song comes in short bursts. Only males of this species have black caps, females have brown. The males tend to be dark gray on top with lighter gray chests and bellies. The females are altogether lighter. These songbirds make their homes throughout Britain and Ireland and are very widespread. That makes them green-listed with the BOCC5. One of the smallest birds on our list, adults weigh 15.4–21.0 grams. They produce 1-2 clutches yearly with 4-5 eggs each.

#2: Blackbird

The blackbird is one of the most common birds in the U.K. found nearly everywhere except at the highest elevations. Green-listed by BOCC5, these birds inhabit gardens and sing their bird song from high places. They often sing the most toward the end of the day in summer, an uncommon characteristic of songbirds in this region. They reach 87–122 grams as adults and pairs produce anywhere from 2-5 clutches a year. Clutches usually have 3-4 eggs each. Many people love to see these birds nesting close by so they can hear their beautiful songs. They are famously the namesake for the song, Blackbird, by The Beatles. The bird is black all over except for their beautiful yellow eyes and beak.

#1: Nightingale – The Most Beautiful Bird Song in the U.K. and The World

When people think of the best bird song in the world, many immediately think of the nightingale. In fact, most people have heard of this songbird, even if they’ve never heard one sing. Their song has many parts and includes chirps, trills, and more. Unique in its bird song, the tiny 18.4–24.4 gram nightingale is a bit of a disappointment to look at. Considering it is one of the most famous birds on the planet, one would expect it to be more than just a small reddish-brown bird!

As their name implies, this songbird is most commonly heard at night. However, this is only the males and they only sing at night until they have found a mate. Then, they sing at dusk and dawn.

Unfortunately, the nightingale is in danger of becoming extinct. They are red-listed with BOCC5 having lost 48 percent of the population between 1995 and 2020. They typically produce only 1-2 clutches a year with 4-5 eggs each. Not only that but they are only found in a small portion of southeastern England during the breeding season. They travel all the way to Africa for winter. Their population decline is attributed to the loss of their natural breeding habitat due to human expansion. Another factor is an increase in deer populations, which eat the scrub bushes the songbirds nest in.

Part of their difficulty in keeping their numbers might likewise be due to the fact they only live about two years, on average. They also do not breed until they reach about one year of age. This means that the average nightingale will only produce one or two clutches before they die.

Final Thoughts

That’s all for our list of the most beautiful bird songs in the United Kingdom. Each of these songbirds has a beautiful tune that can be heard in various parts of the island country. No trip to the U.K. would be complete without spending some time trying to hear some of them in their natural habitats. Many of them are listed as red (or highly threatened) on the BOCC5 and conservation efforts are in place. You can help by donating to BTO or taking part in one of their many projects to save these stunning birds.

Up Next: