ABSTRACT
This chapter considers factors involved in the recent colonization of towns and cities in the United Kingdom (UK) by particular species of birds, namely two species of gull, the Herring Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull, Ring-necked Parakeet and Peregrine Falcon. The rapid colonization of UK towns and cities by Peregrine Falcons since 2000 has been one of the most dramatic episodes in the changing avifauna of the urban environment. Peregrines breeding in towns and cities in the UK remain strongly attached to their breeding site throughout most of the year. The parakeet has been strikingly successful as an urban bird in the UK, but as its population continues to grow the crucial question will be whether it will extend its range into rural areas, as it has in the case of some naturalized populations elsewhere in Europe.
