🔍 Overview An extremely rare and elusive vagrant rail, recorded only a handful of times in Sussex, mainly in spring. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Very small crake (16–18 cm) Male: Grey face, breast, red eye, brown back Female: Buff-toned and less contrasting Bill: Greenish with red base in male 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Rarely...
🔍 Overview The most widespread and abundant pigeon in Sussex and across the UK. Common in gardens, farmland, parks, and woodlands. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Large pigeon (38–44 cm) Plumage: Grey overall with pinkish breast, distinctive white neck patch and white wing bars visible in flight Other: Broad wings and long tail 🗺️ Habitat...
🔍 Overview Rare passage migrant; formerly bred. A shy and elusive rail, the Corncrake is mostly extinct as a breeder in England, but rare passage birds occasionally turn up in Sussex during spring or autumn. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Similar to a Moorhen (27–30 cm) Plumage: Buff-brown with darker streaks; greyish face and...
🔍 Overview Europe’s heaviest flying bird, now reintroduced in parts of the UK. Still an extremely rare vagrant in Sussex with only historic or exceptional flyover records. Native to Iberia and Morocco; with fragmented populations through central and southeast Europe to Turkey and east to central Siberia. Extinct in Great Britain in 1832; since 2013...
🔍 Overview A very rare vagrant to the UK, with only a handful of Sussex records. Most likely seen during hard weather movements. 🪶 Key Identification Features Stocky, short-necked bustard Males: black and white collar Pale brown upperparts, white belly, fast-flying 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution If it appears, likely to be in open fields, Downs,...
🔍 Overview A southern European species, this cuckoo is a very rare spring overshoot in the UK. A Sussex record would be exceptional but possible. 🪶 Key Identification Features Longer tail than Common Cuckoo Pale grey head, black-and-white speckled wings Crest and yellowish underparts 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Would most likely occur in coastal scrub...
🔍 Overview An extreme rarity in Sussex. Most UK records occur during irruptions from Central Asia, often after harsh winters. Last seen in the county decades ago. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Pigeon-sized (30–35 cm) Plumage: Sandy buff, black belly patch, barred back Tail: Long pointed central feathers Wings: Broad and pointed 🗺️ Habitat &...
🔍 Overview A North American species introduced to the UK, now nearly eradicated due to a control programme. Rare in Sussex today. 🪶 Key Identification Features Male: Chestnut body, sky-blue bill, stiff tail often held upright Female: Brown with dark cap and pale face Size: Small diving duck (35–43 cm) 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Formerly...
Very common introduced resident. Population augmented annually by captive bred stock.
