Thanks to everyone who took part in our pre-Christmas competition - Who's hiding under Santa's hat.

Jenny Osborne was the lucky winner of a Country Barn bird table worth £79.99 from our online shop. Just in time for Big Garden Birdwatch! Jenny correctly identified our five birds hiding under Santa's hat. And here they are, without their festive headgear:

Mystery bird 1

Robin. Picture by Andy Hay (www.rspb-images.com)

Mystery bird number 1 is, of course, a traditional Christmas favourite, a robin. Seen in gardens all year round, the robin is known as the gardener's friend due to their bold behaviour!

Mystery bird 2

Bittern. Picture by Andy Hay (www.rspb-images.com)

Mystery bird number two is the secretive heron, a bittern. Once so abundant that if you lived in the fens you might see roast bittern on your Christmas menu, numbers nosedived to just 11 males in 1997. Thanks to some serious hard work, there are now over 120 males booming away in England.

Mystery bird 3

Turtle doves. Picture by Andy Hay (www.rspb-images.com)

Mystery bird number 3 is actually two turtle doves. Made famous in the song 'Twelve days of Christmas' these summer visitors to the UK are having a bad time of it. Declining rapidly, we're working in the UK and Africa to work out exactly why.

Mystery bird 4

Kingfisher. Picture by John Bridges (www.rspb-images.com)


Mystery bird 4 is a family favourite, the kingfisher. With their bright blue and orange feather, kingfishers liven up any trip to a river, canal or lake. This one is perched above a river, scanning for signs of fish below, ready to plunge head first into the water and pull out a tasty treat.

Mystery bird 5

Blue tit. Picture by Ray Kennedy (www.rspb-images.com)

Mystery bird 5 is the ubiquitous blue tit. A regular visitor to garden feeders, it's easy to overlook this familiar bird. But look at little harder and you'll see that, being blue and yellow, it's actually a very attractive bird.

So that's it, there's the five mystery birds. Thanks for taking part!

For more on our science, check out the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science web pages.