Great Egret identification tips
Use this advice to distinguish the egret from similar-looking egrets and herons.
Kenn Kaufman is an expert birder and naturalist, a talented artist and photographer, a world traveler, and the author of many books about birds and other wildlife. His column “ID Tips” appears in every issue of BirdWatching. Kenn is also a field editor for Audubon Magazine and a contributor to Birds and Blooms. His work first appeared in Birder’s World (now BirdWatching) in April 1988. Visit his website, Kaufman Field Guides.
Kenn Kaufman on social media
Use this advice to distinguish the egret from similar-looking egrets and herons.
Use these tips to distinguish this swallow from Tree Swallow.
Learn how to distinguish this long-distance migrant from similar-looking sandpiper species.
Learn to distinguish the widespread sparrow from similar species.
Learn how to distinguish this small diving duck in its distinct winter and summer plumages.
Use this advice to distinguish Eastern Bluebirds from Mountain and Western.
Use this advice to distinguish North America’s smallest plover from its similar-looking relatives.
Eastern and Western Wood-Pewees divide the lower 48 states almost in half. Here’s how to distinguish between the two and other related species.
Use this advice from Kenn Kaufman to distinguish Virginia Rail from two similar species.
Distinguish Townsend’s Solitaire from visually similar species, Northern Mockingbird and Mountain Bluebird.
Use these tips to identify species from the Sunshine State.
Use these tips and photos to distinguish between these two similar cormorant species.
Use these tips to classify one of the most widespread and least ornate duck species in the world.
Female and young male King Eiders are known to mix in with large flocks of Commons in winter, creating a challenge for birders.
Use these tips to differentiate female and juvenile Orchard Orioles from other oriole species.
Use these tips to distinguish two geese species with overlapping breeding ranges.
Kenn Kaufman explains what to look for on these familiar and popular backyard birds.
Why we need birds now — in times of extreme uncertainty — more than ever.
How to ID the various plumages of this most distinctive member of a unique group of shorebirds.
Use these tips to tell the difference between Pygmy Nuthatch and its close relative Brown-headed Nuthatch.
American Tree Sparrow shares similar traits to other sparrows. Use these tips to correctly identify it.
Use these pointers to identify Wandering Tattler, a shorebird that is essentially a Pacific Coast specialty.
Kenn Kaufman shares what to look for when identifying Lucifer Hummingbirds.
Use these tips from Kenn Kaufman to spot Snail Kites.
With photographs from Brian E. Small, author Kenn Kaufman provides tips for identifying Bell’s Vireo.
How to distinguish this western woodpecker from Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Gila Woodpecker.
Kenn Kaufman describes what to look for to identify the variable Orange-crowned Warbler and the similar Tennessee Warbler.
Kenn Kaufman explains how to identify the nomadic Henslow’s Sparrow and its close relatives Grasshopper and Baird’s Sparrows.
In the “ID Tips” column in the August 2018 issue of BirdWatching, Brian Small and I covered identification of Henslow’s Sparrow. As part of my … Read More “Kenn Kaufman’s ode to the Henslow’s Sparrow”
How to tell these two easily confusable species apart.
Kenn Kaufman explains how to differentiate female Blue-winged Teal from two other dabbling ducks: Cinnamon and Green-winged Teal.
Kenn Kaufman explains how to tell Black-capped Chickadee apart from Carolina Chickadee, and he offers tips for identifying Mexican and Mountain Chickadees
Kenn Kaufman describes how to identify three lookalike thrushes: Swainson’s Thrush, Gray-cheeked Thrush, and Hermit Thrush.
A tiny warbler in a big city underscores the wonder of birds
Where and how Kenn Kaufman and two other southern Arizona birders found 11 species of owl in one day