Record Variety of UK birds

The RSPB has released figures showing that birdwatchers recorded a total of 418 different bird species in Britain in 2008. They include exotic visiting species from across the world. The British Birds Rarities Committee has been assessing records of rare birds in Britain since 1958, which are published in the journal British Birds. The report also demonstrated that some formerly scarce visitors, such as the collared dove and little egret, are now regarded as widespread and regular breeding species.