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Basics of bird IDHow to use color, size, markings, and song to identify the birds you see, and 11 good books that we think will make your birdwatching more enjoyable.
Published: May 4, 2006 The first thing that registers in the mind upon seeing a bird is the combination of size and color. As a frame of reference, consider three birds common to virtually everyone: a sparrow, robin, and crow. When a bird pops into view, you might say, "It's a gray robin-size bird" or "The bird I saw was about sparrow-size and blue."
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Photo by Photo by Garvin Swim
Once you have determined the general color and size, try to pick up any distinguishing features such as colored bars on the wings, a cap on the head, or a ring around each eye. Hopefully, if the bird stays in view long enough, you will have time to build a mental picture of the bird with enough field marks, as they are called, to make identification simpler.
Consider the "gray robin-size bird." You've already eliminated many birds such as sparrows, finches, and warblers by judging its size. Now look for other distinguishing features. You may see a black cap and a rusty-colored patch under the tail, two more identifying marks. Listen for its song or call note. You may hear a distinctive catlike "mew." Also note its habitat. Is the bird found in brushy areas or along a wooded edge? Keep these all in mind, or better yet, record what you see and hear in a notebook. |
Bird Books
Once you have a set of field marks in mind or jotted down, consult a field guide. Several excellent field guides are listed below. Most birders carry one with them into the field. A large vest pocket or fanny pack will hold your guide for quick reference.
The gray bird with the catlike sound? Paging through the songbird section in a field guide will reveal the Gray Catbird. |
 The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley  Birds of North America, by Kenn Kaufman
Reference Books
• The Birder's Handbook, by Paul R. Ehrlich and others
• Lives of North American Birds, by Kenn Kaufman
• The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior, by David Allen Sibley
• Sibley's Birding Basics, by David Allen Sibley
Field Guides
• Birds of North America (Kaufman Focus Guides), by Kenn Kaufman
• A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America, by Roger Tory Peterson
• National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America
• The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley
• Birds of North America (Golden Field Guide Series), by Chandler S. Robbins and others
• All the Birds of North America, by Jack L. Griggs
• Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern, and Western regions, by Donald and Lillian Stokes
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