Beginner’s Guide To Identifying Birds
If you like bird watching, it is a certainty that you’ll want to learn how to identify these birds. It is exciting when you are able to correctly identify a bird while out bird watching. This isn’t as easily done as said, however - it can be very difficult at times. A good field guide can be your friend in this regard. Having some of your own knowledge filed away in your head will make it even easier to use this guide however. If you’re a novice bird watcher, read on for a few tips to help you “name that bird”.
The Size of the Bird
Take a look at the size of a bird if you don’t know how to identify it. Is it the size of a robin, a small sparrow, a chicken, or even an ostrich? Is the bird plump, skinny, short, or very long? Take a look at the entire body and take every feature into consideration, including the size and shape of the wings, tail and beak.
What Color or Pattern Is the Bird?
Another tip that will help you to more accurately identify birds is to take note of the colors that are on the bird. As you learn which colors certain birds tend to be you’ll soon learn how to identify some birds by color alone. However, colors can trick you from time to time. The lighting may affect the color that the bird appears. Be sure to check the colors that are on each part of the body as well. Are the legs a certain color, the wings a specific color, or does it have any specific markings anywhere on the body?
Where are You?
Knowing where you bird watch is also going to be a help when you identify birds. Where are you when you bird watch? Are you on the water, in your front yard, inside a large forest? Certain birds stay within one particular habitat. If the bird’s in the water, wading or swimming, can it actually climb a tree, too? Does it fly, and if so, where and how? How does it move its tail? All of these things will help you when you want to identify the birds you watch.
Use Your Ears
One of the most important tips for beginner bird watchers that want to identify birds is to listen. Every single bird has a unique song that they sing and if you listen you may be able to identify the bird just by what you hear. If you are listening closely you may even see some birds that you would have never seen otherwise, and while this won’t always help you identify a bird, it can definitely help.
Next time you go on a bird watching adventure, keep these tips in mind to help you in your efforts. They’ll help you identify the birds you see, and this will make it a much more rewarding and fun experience for you, too.
