Fall 1999 Table of Contents

Learn to identify birds at a glance

Learning to identify birds for the first time can often be overwhelming.

How do veteran birders tell what bird is which so fast? Well, sometimes they just identify a category of bird quickly, then figure out the precise species.

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It’s not rocket science. They just watch for these key clues:

• Size and shape of body, bill, wings and tail; these visual clues will help you categorize a bird as perching or "passerine" (from the order of Passeriformes), non- passerine or land, swimmers, aerialists, fowl-like, long-legged waders, short-legged or smaller waders, or birds of prey. (See silhouette chart.)

• Behavior and habitat – flying in flocks, soaring or flapping wings, diving under water, hopping up or down a tree, moving on the ground, moving along edge of water, etc.

• Feeding habits – eating seeds, catching insects, pulling worms out of the ground, fishing, attacking other birds or small mammals, etc.

• Individual marks – colors of head, throat, belly, tail, and other body parts, wing bars or shoulder epaulets, crown shape, eye rings or streaks, plain or streaked breast, etc.

Of course there’s no substitute for a good field guide to help you hone in on the right species. There are several excellent ones available in book stores and libraries. Just remember that you first need to categorize the bird some way to narrow your search before flipping through the pictures in a book.

Check out range maps in your field guide, too. Although nothing’s impossible, (considering how migratory birds can get blown off course), a range map may show you that one species is much more probable than another.

Keep in mind the time of year when you’re trying to identify birds, too. Fall and spring are particularly challenging, even for veteran birders, because so many different migratory species can be moving through your area that you won’t see in summer or winter. Fall birding is further complicated by the fact that bird families now include juveniles that don’t always have the same plumage as adults.

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