I have always enjoyed tackling cryptic crosswords, and then one day I wondered why there seemed to benone about birds. So, I decided to try my hand at constructing some. I have since discovered other websites with bird-themed crosswords although not cryptic ones (and not always possessing the symmetrical pattern which is the hallmark of a “good” crossword).
My bird-themed crosswords are published as "Cross-bird" in the quarterly magazine Australian BirdLife, under the pseudonym of Atrichornis. Can you work out why I chose that name?
I also occasionally have produced cryptic crosswords that are not about birds; for example, to entertain my family at Christmas time.
The links below will take you to individual crosswords. Be warned – the solutions are on the second page!
Atrichornis crosswords (The Cross-bird)
Atrichornis 046 (I made a numbering error and so this one was created after #047)
The Bittern - my large cryptic bird crosswords
I've been experimenting with a 23 x 23 format for crosswords. That allows me to use longer bird names (the 15 character limit is a frustration at times). Thus far I've created three of these larger puzzles (which I've dubbed as The Bittern).
More cryptic bird crosswords
These are some of my early attempts at bird-themed crosswords. The “birdiness” of them is variable (some don’t have much to do with birds at all) and some of them use anagrams (sometimes rather convoluted ones!) to a greater extent than nowadays I would permit. But you might enjoy trying them nevertheless.
Fledgling 001 (this evolved to become Atrichornis 015; several of the answers are the same but most of the clues are different).
Fledgling 004 (this evolved to become Atrichornis 005; several of the answers are the same but many of the clues are different).
The Penta Puzzles
I developed these "simple" non-cryptic 5 x 5 puzzles during the 2020 Coronavirus lockdown, as a brief distraction for birdwatchers who for about nine weeks were unable to visit their favourite birding spots. I sent out a new puzzle to the Hunter Region birding community every day over the lockdown period. The puzzles also were uploaded to the BirdLife Australia website (as the "Daily Cross-bird"). For a compilation of the full set of 63 puzzles (and also a bonus 7 x 7 puzzle), click here.
Non bird cryptic crosswords
Christmas 2013 ("Unwrapping the Presence")
Christmas 2014 ("Presents of Mind")
Christmas 2015 ("Yule Work it Out")