Dominic Couzens
Bird expert and best selling nature author
Dominic Couzens is a nature writer, speaker and tour leader. He is the author of numerous books about birds, including Bird ID Insights, The Secret Life of Puffins and Tales of Remarkable Birds.
Recent articles by Dominic Couzens
Snow bunting guide: identification, call and UK distribution
The snow bunting breeds further north than any other small bird in the world. Learn all about this tough little songbird, including what it looks like, its call, favoured UK habitat and incredible adaptations with your expert birder's guide.
Lapland bunting guide: identification, call and facts
The Lapland bunting is a very rare winter visitor in the UK, with the occasional pair breeding. Learn all about this tundra bird, including what it looks like, its call, favoured habitat and breeding with your expert birder's guide.
Bird migration guide: which species migrate and where do they go?
Throughout the year, millions of birds migrate to and from the British Isles. Our expert guide explores why some birds arrive in the UK in particular seasons and others leave, which species migrate and where they go when they leave Britain's shores.
Dabchick: where does the little grebe gets its peculiar name?
The little grebe is diminutive and plump with a thin neck and small head. Learn all about this diving grebe – including plumage, call, diet and habitat – with your expert birder's guide
Meet Britain's surprising killer bird
With a maximum of 60 individuals overwintering in the UK, the red-necked grebe is one of our rarest waterbirds. Yet with a habit of killing other bird species and its rowdy call, alongside its unerring beauty, its reputation far exceeds its numbers. Learn more this fiery member of the grebe family with your expert guide
Why the Slavonian grebe's courtship display is one of the greatest shows on Earth
Visit Scotland in spring and you might be lucky enough to catch a pair of Slavonian grebes taking part in their showy courtship display, known as the “weed rush”. Learn all about this chestnut-brown waterbird – including what it looks like, courtship, diet and plumage – with your expert guide.
How great crested grebes perform their sublime water ballet
The great crested grebe's stunning courtship performance culminates with the grebes holding waterweed in their bills and paddling furiously in an upright position parallel to one another, in almost perfect unison. Learn all about this majestic waterbird – including what it looks like, breeding and nesting habitats, UK habitat and distribution – with your expert birder's guide
Meet the muscle-shrivelling, organ-swelling bird with red eyes that becomes flightless for eight months of the year
The black-necked grebe lives up to its name, in that it is our only grebe with a black neck in breeding plumage. Lear all about this unusual bird – including what makes it a record breaker – with your expert guide to black-necked grebes
Grebe guide: British species, how to identify and where to see them
Duck-like and characterful, often with poetic courtship displays, Britain's grebes make a marvellous sighting for any birdwatcher. Here, we reveal five species to look out for in the UK.
Cirl bunting guide: how to identify, call and amazing facts
The cirl bunting has a dry trill on a single note, a bit like an insect. Learn all about this rare songbird, including what it looks like, its call, favoured UK habitat and distribution with your expert birder's guide
Corn bunting guide: call, how to identify and surprising facts
The corn bunting can be tricky to identify, but look a little closer at this unassuming bunting and you'll find plenty of surprises. Learn all about the songbird, including what it looks like, its call, favoured habitat and courtship with your expert birder's guide
Reed bunting guide: call, appearance and facts
The reed bunting can be seen all year round in the UK in a variety of habitats, from reedbeds and marshes to farmland, heathland and coastal grassland. Learn all about this small brown bunting, including what it looks like, its call and the difference between males and females with your expert guide.
Yellowhammer guide: song, appearance, breeding and facts
The yellowhammer is one of the easiest buntings to identify in the UK. Learn all about this famous songster, including what it looks like, its summer song and its breeding behaviour with your expert guide
Fly into the secretive world of buntings with your definitive guide to these magical songbirds
Buntings are a group of seed-eating songbirds that bear many of the same characteristics as finches. In this guide, we explore the differences and reveal six species to look out for in the UK.
Black tern guide: migration, identification and feeding
The black tern is a passage migrant in the UK and part of a group known as the 'marsh terns'. Learn more about this seabird, including what it looks like, migration and distribution with our guide to black terns
Little tern guide: identification, distribution and nesting
As its name suggests, the little tern is the smallest uk turn species. Learn more about this seabird, including what it looks like, migration and distribution with our guide to little terns
Roseate tern guide: identification, distribution and migration
The roseate tern is a very rare seabird in the UK, with 94 breeding pairs. Learn more about this bird, including what it looks like, migration and distribution with our guide to roseate terns
Arctic tern guide: migration, identification and distribution
The Arctic tern has the longest regular migration in the world, flying as much as 90,000km in a year. Learn more about this seabird, including what it looks like, migration and distribution with our guide to Arctic terns
Common tern guide: facts, identification and courtship
The common tern has a red bill with a black tip, and a rather flat crown. Learn more about this seabird, including what they look like, courtship and habitat with BBC Countryfile magazine's expert guide to common terns
Sandwich tern guide: facts, breeding and migration
The sandwich tern is our largest tern, easily identified by its black, crested cap in spring and early summer. Learn more about this seabird, including what they look like, breeding and migration patterns with BBC Countryfile magazine's expert guide to sandwich terns
Tern guide: UK species and how to identify them
Arctic terns, common terns and little terns grace Britain's shores in the summers months. Learn how to identify them – and other tern species – with BBC Countryfile Magazine's expert guide.
How to identify winter animal tracks
The muddy and snowy footpaths of the countryside are the perfect canvas for animal hoof, paw and footprints. Learn how to identify animal tracks in winter in the British countryside with our handy wildlife guide.
Willow warbler guide: song, appearance, distribution and migration
This small, greenish bird has a soft, lilting song, a sure sign that spring is here. Learn all about this tuneful member of the warbler family – including appearance, song and migration patterns – with our birder's guide
Reed warbler guide: song, appearance, distribution and migration
Find reeds and you have a chance of finding the reed warbler. Learn all about this common warbler – including what they look like, their song and migration patterns – with our birder's guide