Birding 101: What IS That? How to Identify Birds

At first you can only hear it, tweeting and chirping in the dense brush nearby. Then you see it flitting about. You raise your binoculars to your eyes…you focus…and there it is, dark and small and…and...What the heck IS it?

Welcome to the world of birding.

There are some 800 species of birds in the contiguous United States. Figuring out who’s who in the (forgive the pun) pecking order of things can be as challenging as it is fun.

Let’s go back to our field and our feathered friend. As we watch it, we’re going to ask what I consider to be the five most basic questions birders ask when identifying birds.

1. Where is the bird? Birds aren’t inclined to wander far from their normal habitats. For example, sparrows and juncos prefer low brush while robins prefer trees. Herons and egrets stick to swamps; ducks hang out by, of course, water.

In this case, our little friend is hanging out in low brush in a wooded area.

2. What size is it? Is it fat or thin? Big or little?

In our case, our buddy is fairly small – about 7 inches from beak to tail. He (for simplicity’s sake we’ll say it’s a He) is a slender fellow, slightly smaller than a robin.

3. What color(s) is it? Is it bright red or bright blue? Dull brown or slate gray? Green or purple?

Color helps you determine not only what kind of bird you’re looking at, but also a) if the bird is male or female, and b) if the bird is a young (immature) bird. In our case, Buddy the Bird has a black head, black wings and back, and a white belly.

4. Does it have any other markings? Is the top of its head, or crest, red? Are its back feathers spotted black? Has it got yellow on its breast feathers? Does it have eye rings? What’s the shape of its beak?

Taking a good, close look for these marks – known as field marks -- will make it easier for you to identify the bird. We find that Buddy has reddish-brown, or rufous, sides, and red eyes. And, there are white patches in the corners of his tail.

5. How is it behaving? Does it fly from tree to tree, climb tree trunks in spiral fashion, peck on bark? Pull worms out of the ground for food?

Go To Page: 1 2