My uncle first showed me the birding ropes years ago, and while he was a great teacher I've been anxious for other insights from a teacher's perspective. The main thing I was taught while in the field was this: start at the bird's beak and go from there. How do people teach new birders to identify species? I've been birding for a while now, and in my area I'm able to pick out calls and that certainly aids me in my efforts, but sometimes I can get stuck, especially if I'm in a new country, or looking at sparrows, seagulls, shorebirds etc. This is an area where I would personally like to improve. I love the challenge of looking at a massive flock of birds and knowing what's in there. Is it as simple as studying these birds every day, or are there other methods that can make us better? I really want to be able to recognize a bird for myself, other than having someone tell me what it is. I think that's important. What do you find helps with bird identification? Outside of bird watching all the time, what else makes better birders? Thanks for any insights in advance.
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general bird iding questions (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Sinaloa
- Start date
As with all things in life I'm afraid it does come down to practice. But you need to look at the common birds as well, get use to seeing them in all lights and angles and plumages if you can quickly spot the common birds it makes the uncommon ones stand out all the more.
Get into the habit of looking at and IDing every bird you see even when on a trip to the shops or waiting in a queue, you don't have to be "birdwatching" to watch birds.
Get into the habit of looking at and IDing every bird you see even when on a trip to the shops or waiting in a queue, you don't have to be "birdwatching" to watch birds.
I agree with this, and it's a habit these days. Walk out in the yard, try to get between 5 and 10 species. Also gets your mind right. Teaches your brain not to expect the impossible no matter how much it may want to
Good question.
I find one thing those who struggle neglect to do is something rather mundane, but important: memorizing field marks. Views of birds are often brief, and you can't practice applying your knowledge to the bird unless you know what to look for when you are seeing it. Try to approach this on a group basis, e.g. start with shorebirds in your area.
Another thing that helps is participating in--or at least studying--the ID threads in forums such as this. Look at the photo and see if you can figure out what it is while consulting your references, and then see what others say. If you guess wrong, that's often a powerful psychological means of fixing certain field marks in your memory.
Further, guides devoted to specific bird groups, esp. photo guides, can be very good at showing the range of variation in the various species. "The Shorebird Guide" is one example of a specialty guide that has helped many. Kenn Kaufman's "Advanced Birding" guide is another that helps even without photos.
And if there is an active local club in your area that offers field trips, go on those--esp. with leaders who are known to have excellent bird ID skills. Seeing them in action, and asking questions, is a great way to improve skills.
Finally, if you don't have the big Sibley guide, I'd recommend it. It should be the primary guide for non-beginners who are serious about improving their bird ID skills. A terrific supplement is Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide companion.
Best,
Jim
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Jim,
I've been visiting the ID threads a bunch doing just what you said: trying to classify birds into the species, and if it's something from North America I try to figure out what it is all together. The other plus is being able to ask questions and have someone who knows more say 'you're right,' or 'you're wrong.' I have the sibley book, but maybe i don't spend enough time in it. The other book you mentioned i'm not familiar with. I'll have to look into it. Great tips. Thanks.
I've been visiting the ID threads a bunch doing just what you said: trying to classify birds into the species, and if it's something from North America I try to figure out what it is all together. The other plus is being able to ask questions and have someone who knows more say 'you're right,' or 'you're wrong.' I have the sibley book, but maybe i don't spend enough time in it. The other book you mentioned i'm not familiar with. I'll have to look into it. Great tips. Thanks.
Jim,
great points. One of the reasons i joined this site was the activity in the ID threads. I like trying to figure out what the birds are. My main goals are to nail them down to species, and if they're North American, figure out what the actual bird is. I'm sure it helps. I do own the Sibley book, but maybe i don't look in it enough. The other book you mentioned i've never heard of, so i'll look into it. Speaking of books, i've always gone by plates as i understand they're better than pictures. True or false, or more of a gray statement?
great points. One of the reasons i joined this site was the activity in the ID threads. I like trying to figure out what the birds are. My main goals are to nail them down to species, and if they're North American, figure out what the actual bird is. I'm sure it helps. I do own the Sibley book, but maybe i don't look in it enough. The other book you mentioned i've never heard of, so i'll look into it. Speaking of books, i've always gone by plates as i understand they're better than pictures. True or false, or more of a gray statement?
I prefer a book with quality paintings as my primary ID guide; it's easier for them to show birds in the same light and pose, for easy comparison. But photo guides can be good supplements-- especially those concentrated on a single group, e.g. raptors or shorebirds, that have numerous photos illustrating the range of variation in particular species. And photo guides with many photos of the same species are coming closer to traditional guides in helping you identify birds, e.g. the Stokes or Crossley guides.
Best,
Jim
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I personally think that the advanced birding by Kaufman pushed my thinking forward. I definitely agree with Jim on recommending that to a US birder.
One thing that I think every beginning birder does is to look for "a bird with something blue there and something yellow below" and then try to look through the entire book for that bird. The first thing to try to do is to become good at first grouping a bird correctly to shorebird/sparrow/warbler, etc, and thereafter to genus. That leaves a lot less of the book to look through which every beginner has done countless times before getting good.
Another thing where I agree with Jim: you will often find that in some groups, a conspicuous trait is shared by several members, and if you learn what to look for next within that group, that should allow you to fix the id, if not instantaneously then at least after looking in a field guide.
Another book that I like to recommend is an old book on flight identification of raptors that builds on a holistic approach, including likely behavior and silhouettes. Even if you cannot do what the authors can, it still helps to get an explanation of the way they think.
Niels
One thing that I think every beginning birder does is to look for "a bird with something blue there and something yellow below" and then try to look through the entire book for that bird. The first thing to try to do is to become good at first grouping a bird correctly to shorebird/sparrow/warbler, etc, and thereafter to genus. That leaves a lot less of the book to look through which every beginner has done countless times before getting good.
Another thing where I agree with Jim: you will often find that in some groups, a conspicuous trait is shared by several members, and if you learn what to look for next within that group, that should allow you to fix the id, if not instantaneously then at least after looking in a field guide.
Another book that I like to recommend is an old book on flight identification of raptors that builds on a holistic approach, including likely behavior and silhouettes. Even if you cannot do what the authors can, it still helps to get an explanation of the way they think.
Niels
I'm still a beginner in id-ing birds, but I find one thing is when I've seen a bird and narrowed it to a family, it is good to start noting (sometimes literally writing out for myself) what are key features to distinguish two birds which are easy to confuse. I find myself still suffering from thinking that color alone will help me id the bird, and am trying to see shapes better: beaks are relatively easy, but seeing wing and tail length is still a challenge, but very important especially in some families.
