You don't have to identify birds to enjoy them... they're quite often beautiful, they have some lovely songs, they're lively creatures who can show off all kinds of cool behavior. But if you've crossed the line from person-who-sometimes-notices-birds to person-who-watches-birds (or made the leap all the way to birder), you want to know what you're looking at.
Last week I wrote about a crazy-rare bird that showed up in California. Whenever a really rare duck or shorebird or gull shows up, you'll inevitably hear someone among the watchers say "how did they ever spot that?" There are flocks of hundreds (or thousands) of similar birds, and that one that was just different enough jumped out at them.
For beginners, I hope you'll find some useful info here. And experienced folk, maybe you can add some suggestion that have helped you.
It’s one of the many paradoxes of birding that one of the most obvious aspects of a bird’s appearance – color - can be one of the least useful for identification. A yellow bird really stands out, but you quickly realize that the yellow (or splash of yellow) could mean that you’re looking at a warbler, a finch, a female tanager or oriole, a grosbeak, flicker... well, a lot of birds. Okay, maybe yellow is an extreme example, but even blue could lead you to a lot of very different birds – jays, bluebirds, warblers, kingfishers, kestrels... you see the problem. And heaven help you if the color is “brown and streaky”.
Blue on top, grey on bottom. But what else?
Obviously, color is important. But what will really help you identify the birds you might not have seen (or at least noticed) before?
I first started watching birds 20+ years ago, but didn’t really get serious for a few years. When I decided to learn more, I took some trips with the local Audubon group and, wow, was there a lot to be learned from going out with people who knew what they were doing! So the first suggestion for learning how to ID birds is this: Hang out with people who know more than you do. The Audubon Society is a great resource; find your local chapter and join it if you can. Even if you can’t afford to join right now, most of them have field trips open to the general public - joining gives you a heads up on when and where the trips take place.
What did those better birders teach me over the years?
Get to know the “regulars”, and that way you’ll have some frame of reference when there’s something unfamiliar. Robins are almost everywhere – they’re so common that we tend to overlook them. Look at their behavior (hunting on the ground, but not usually kicking at the debris), listen for their song and their various calls. Then when you see something that kinda looks like a robin, but has a big V on the chest and lots of color in the wing, you’ll realize that it’s a varied thrush. When you hear a robin singing, but it’s going really fast, you’ll realize that it’s probably a grosbeak, or if it sounds like a robin after a lot of whiskey and cigarettes, you can guess that it might be a tanager. Learn your common sparrows and finches and ducks; get to know which jay(s) you have and look at redtailed hawks (adults and kids). Now you’re ready to compare and contrast.
Here’s one really useful piece of advice that I heard for years before it really sunk in: Look at the bill. Yes, the bill. The bill shape will tell you a lot about its function, which is basically how/what the bird eats, which will tell you a lot about the bird. A conical bill will tell you that the bird is a seed eater, but a bird with skinny little “tweezers” is most likely an insect eater. Longer, pointed bills may indicate a frugivore (fruit eater) like an oriole, or a longer, more substantial bill might mean a generalist like a jay. A sharply hooked bill means a raptor (daytime or nighttime); and bill shape can help you separate the ducks from the other birds on the water. Also - Is the bill about as long as the bird’s head, or is it shorter/longer? Does it curve? This helps you narrow your search, and the fewer sections of the field guide that you have to flip through, the more likely you are to find your bird.
Golden-crowned sparrow, with seed-eater's bill vs. American Robin with insectivore bill shape.
The bill tells you something about the bird, and studying behavior adds more information. You see a bird in a tree – is it clinging and climbing the trunk (woodpeckers, nuthatches and creepers)? is it foraging among the leaves (warblers, vireos, chickadees/titmice)? is it flying from and returning to the same perch while grabbing insects from the air (flycatchers, phoebes and some warblers)? Or is it just hanging out (could be anyone). Is that bird on the ground pecking at seeds or kicking up debris to search for food in the leaf litter? Is that duck tipping its butt into the air (dabbling) to feed vegetation, or is it diving for live food? Is that hawk hunting while soaring on a thermal, or zipping through the trees and brush to chase down birds (maybe even at your feeder), or is it chasing shorebirds on a mudflat? Is it wading in a mudflat with long legs or short legs?
Now that you have a little better sense of what family of birds you’re looking for, color can be helpful. But don’t reach for that field guide just yet. If the bird is cooperating, keep looking at it. The field guide will always be there, but the bird may not. Let’s say that you’re pretty sure it’s a warbler, but you haven’t quite ruled out other possibilities. Look at the size, first. It can be hard to gauge size, but try to think in terms of birds you’re really familiar with – sparrow size? Robin/jay/crow/mallard/hawk/heron/eagle size?
Okay, now to look think about color. Say it’s got some yellow – where? Bright or dull or olive-y or orange-y? Is the back a different color/pattern from the breast/belly? Any facial markings like masks, eyestripes? Wing bars (really useful for some families? A pattern in the tail (outer tail feathers different, or is tail striped)? Can you see the undertail coverts (where the underside of the body meets the tail – can be important for warblers) or the rump (where the upperside of the body meets the tail)?
At this point, you can pull out the field guide (or better still, you or your birding buddy can look at the guide while the other continues to watch the bird and describe features). Take some notes, or maybe you can grab a photo, or perhaps even do a field sketch. For those of you who think you can’t do a field sketch, it’s not like it’s going into a museum competition. You just need something very basic to show locations of key field marks that you notice.
Not much to any of these, but there's still enough info to figure out that they show a redtail, a yellow-rumped warbler, and a Steller's jay.
When you're taking photos out there, study them and compare them with your field guides. Even a comprehensive guide like Sibley doesn't show all the plumages from all the angles. One example I can think of is how ducks look with their heads tucked under their wings as they rest on shore. That's the pose you see them in a lot of the time. That falcated duck was pretty distinctive when you could see its head... but not nearly so easy to pick out when he was resting. Going back and reviewing your photos (especially when the day is still fresh in mind) is a really good way to learn some of this stuff.
To summarize:
1. Hang out with good birders, and learn from them.
2. Get familiar with your local, regular birds.
3. Look at the bill for clues as to what the bird eats.
4. Watch behavior for more clues about the bird’s family.
5. Now that you’ve narrowed the range, look for field marks.
6. Take notes, draw pictures, take photos – learn from what you’ve seen.
7. Look as often as you can. (so sign off soon and go outside, okay?)
Update:
tgypsy reminds that local birding listserves are another useful resource, and has a link to a great source for lists all over the country.