Betting on National Bird of Britain

Robin is a full bank job. Associated with Christmas cards etc.

Carol from Essex a shocking omission.

Dodo might be the most similar in character.

I see your point Mr E but if it is greeting card PR why not the stork or easter chick?

Kingfisher for me with the Blue Tit first reserve.

Surely the thieving Magpie would be the most representative of a Nation that seems to encourage the 'entitlement' culture so prevalently these days?

I'm not aware that magpies steal.

Para, they are a bit like your average Chav as they like to decorate their home with shiny things.

Apparently a myth though according to this article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28797519

Did a magpie ruin your life Big Issue?

Birdwatchers are spoiled around my neck of the woods, we have a huge variety.  There are loads of buzzards, kestrels and owls; puffins, waxwings, and even the odd peregrine or swan.  The local mafia of the feathered kind around here, however, are the jackdaws, none of the other birds dare mess with them.

Sorry aka

Magpies are vermin ,due to a few reasons they are well out of control and were never so prevalent than they are now .

between them and cats there is hardly a song bird left in the country

cull long overdue ...cats first

We had a Robin visit 3 times a day. Brave wee thing. Got nearer and nearer and eventually started to eat out of my hand. Didn`t appear one morning and neighbour told me her cat had brought a dead Robin into the house

I vote for the Starling. Beautiful colour plumage but hardly anybody notices. Sticks with us all the year round and there is nothing more spectacular in the sky than a murmuration.

Worst thing you can do mac even worse than people who put bread out everyday. Best that birds remain wary of humans same as every other wild creature.
With bread the same birds visit every day gorging themselves on the bread but don't get the vitamins their natural diet gives them.
That's part of the reason for the demise in our more popular birds.

You`re probably right aka.

I used to do it but got put wise when I joined the RSPCB.
Now I have nesting boxes up but only supply food (bought from the pet shop) in severe weather.

Bula (Brilliant horse by the way), I`m long term member of RSPB too. Does that mean I can call you "brother"

I don`t feed birds bread either. I buy bird food in bulk from http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/birdfood.html

You are probably aware of it, with it being most popular site of it`s kind, but if not you may save yourself a few bob long term.

I'd go for goldfinch or nuthatch - for colouring.

Robin must be strongly odds on.  Everyone knows what it looks like.  Garden friendly.  Red colour also in Union Jack/Flag.

Robin is nailed on, I would have thought.  Glad to see no vermin on the list  My choice would be the feisty Wren - I like his property-developing, estate agency style, starts several nests, chooses a mate then shows her round the sites and she chooses one she likes.  If there is plenty of food around he repeats the process with another mate.

Cant remember the last time a seen one .

cats prob got them all

I would have thought a manky Pigeon shitting on your back would represent Britain rather well.

Surprised there is not a decent pair of t1ts in this

Cuckoo would have been a good outside bet, where's the imagination of the people who did the list?

Cuckoo = Opportunistic greedy immigrant squatter.  Excellent choice

The way this country is going down the tubes i would have thought " a lame duck" would be most appropriate.

Jay.

Jay = Pretty but vermin.

Surprised there are no fans of swallows on here

I fink she drinks in my pub...............

They come over here scaring native birds , raiding feed tables ........Ring Necked Parakeet for me.

Very few of us see a Puffin for goodness sake .

Where is the magnificent collared dove , the stomach on legs that is the Wood Pigeon and as for the halfwit who calls the wonderful Jay names......

Oozlum Bird

Running around with you

sixtwosix - this halfwit has been a bird-watcher for nearly 60 years.  Jays are beautiful birds but they are among the ruthless thugs of the bird world

It is strange I suppose that population wise for a lot of people the birds they are most likely to see day to day are pigeons, but they aren't not on that list. I suppose it's because unlike their pretty cousins like wood pigeons and doves, urban pigeons tend to be dirty scavenging mutant bird zombies with bits of their feet missing, filled with a lust for brains.

Nonsense , Jays are constantly harassed by magpies ........

Saw a documentary on pigeons .
The suggestion was they must be aware of what they are (akin to mankind) as they only mate with different versions of pigeon to themselves, so strengthening the gene pool.

Perhaps you just choose a poor word in vermin .

Not my recent experience here in Sussex, Sixtwosix.  They increasingly seem to get along better than they used to. In any event, the Magpies are preoccupied with attacks by crows (and avoiding getting shot!).

I throw monkey nuts out in the garden for Jays .They sometimes swallow them whole ,then fly off to enjoy them.
Never seen one bother any other type of bird feeding in the garden.

Sixtwosix.  Re vermin, fair point!- farmer's son and old habits die hard.  Still on the "General Licence" list though!

sixtwosix - you might want to do a bit of research on their diet

I don't know about their bird chasing habits but magpies are nice looking birds.
Magpie feathers can have a blue/green irredescence you don't really see from a distance.

I can't see thrush making the list anytime soon

.
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Thrush/Pages/Introduction.aspx

strange song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WROdwlk9_h8

just read the top comment on the youtube page.

I remember seeing a travel programme about Mongolian people living
on the fringes of the Gobi Desert, in the background I noticed there
were pigeons even there. Of course any sensible pigeon would live in
St Mark's square.

Are there any Eastern European Migrant birds that have come here over, stealing our back gardens and hedgerows?

[img]http://images.onesite.com/community.betfair.com/user/themightymac/themi...

It should be the ****hawk.  But failing that, the robin.  When you have one perch on your hand to eat seed, you can't help admire the little buggers.

Thought that black birds would be higher on the list in this multicultural society of ours.

You can't call them black anymore... or birds come to that.

You can call them black, but not coloured hth

Really?  That would most certainly make things a whole lot easier, I've been trying to chirp and whistle at them like Percy Edwards.

He had a way with birds did old Percy, almost on a par with our very own kenny mann.

I've voted robin,but I think that the Mallard should have made the final list as it must be the first contact which many young children make with wild-life whilst feeding them with bread,which they shouldn't do,of course.

Is Babs Windsor on this list somewhere?

Can the election overseers ensure that no-one can vote more than once?

I admit that one of the following doesn`t belong to these shores and one is a very rare visitor but what the heck, I like them

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The Hoopoe! Mostly an occasional visitor and breeder in The Sciliy Isles and across the coast of Southern England. I believe I saw one in Yorskhire when a child but maybe I was mistaken.

The Hoopoe! Mostly an occasional visitor and breeder in The Sciliy Isles and across the coast of Southern England. I believe I saw one in Yorskhire when a child but maybe I was mistaken.

Robin

The linnet is a lovely bird. Used to be common place up North in early 70s but never seen one in over 30 years. Is it because their local habitat has been decimated due to farming and development? Are they prominent down South?

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a robin nested and raised 4 chicks in my post box (wooden) mental, as house on busy road buses every 10 mins

mistle thrush in centre of leics last year made its nest and raised chicks in a traffic light, nest was made on top of the amber light so the fkin birds were staring at the red light above them all day

Last one I saw mac was on a camping trip to somewhere just past Dumbarton nearly 50 years ago.

Any idea why they have disappeared in Scotland aka?

I think they are still around but in limited numbers.
Not sure why but you can bet mankind has a hand in it somewhere.
Will give me something to research tomorrow.

Cheers, I will look forward to your White Paper on the subject It`s a mystery to me.

Would help you with your research but have a double on Cruizero and Atletico Nationale in Copa America and off to watch games. GL

Cheers and GL with your bets.

Where art thou Aka? Been awaiting your research with great anticipation.

I had a magpie come to visit to thank me for the compliment, didn't know they were on betfair :)

Loud as hell right outside my window, this ch-ch-ch-ch-ch noise like a sort of ratchet toy, I had no idea at first what the hell it was!