How to Identify Birds

Although bird watching can be a difficult and exacting hobby, there are some general clues to recognizing types of birds that any beginner can learn.

You can start by obtaining a list with descriptions and pictures of birds that generally live in your region. Then you can arm yourself with binoculars and take note of the following clues.

Shape and size

Proportions of wings, necks, legs, bills, and tails whether in flight or resting are an important pointer toward what kind of bird you are looking at.

The kind of food a bird eats is indicated by its bill. If a bird eats seeds, it needs a short, thick bill. Those who eat water bugs or fish will have long bills to reach with into the water. To catch insects, a bird has to have a sharp skinny beak.

In flight, whether the bird's tail is forked, fanned or broad can help identify one from another. A martin and a swallow look a good deal alike, but the swallow has a forked tail.

In aquatic birds, the length of the neck is an important identifying factor. Loons have necks that are short, a cormorant's is long and slender.

Flight pattern and behavior

Birds are often identified by their behavior and posture during takeoff and flight, whether alone or in concert with other birds. For example, a duck will rise vertically from the water while coots get a running start before taking flight. Geese fly together in a V-pattern, and so will white pelicans but brown pelicans will form a straight line.

There are also posture clues when a bird is feeding or resting. At a distance, two striped birds such as a warbler and a woodpecker may look a great deal alike due to similar markings. However, the woodpecker feeds with his head up, and the warbler will usually be head down.

Field marks

Field marks can often be quite subtle and thus are used in combination with all the other clues to identify specific birds.

Birds have various markings from the crests of their heads to breast, wing and tail which can help identify them.

Thrushes and sparrows can appear very much alike, but sparrows have one large central spot at the breast while thrushes are spotted over the entire breast.

Birds with crests, such as the cardinal and titmouse, are usually quite easily identified due to their color along with the crest.

Powerful binoculars often must come into play when attempting to separate one bird from another through markings around the eye. Thrushes and vireos have varieties which feature eye markings and other relatives that do not.

Tail markings and wing spots are other important identifiers in the bird world. For example, juncos feature white outer tail feathers while a redstart's fanned out tail will show bright red patches, although the two birds are similar in shape and size. Light bars on the wings of flycatchers help identify them, and the presence and colors of wing patches help tell one kind of duck from another.

By taking along a basic guide to birds in your area and watching for the differences in all of these features, beginners should be able to learn basic identification techniques very quickly.

Sources:

Joy of Nature, p. Reader's Digest 1977

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