What to Notice About Birds
Every bird species exhibits its own identification clues, including all of the following: size and shape, color and field marks, songs and calls, behavior traits and habitats where they are most likely to be found. Some species can be identified from just a few clues. Others require careful observation of every detail and every trait.
How big is a certain bird compared to one you already know, such as . . .
A House Sparrow?
A Robin?
A Crow?
Is it . . .
Slender as a Mockingbird?
Chunky as a Meadowlark?
Is its bill . . .
Fine, as a Warbler's?
Cone-shaped, as a Cardinal's?
Thicker, as a Vireo's?
Are its wings shaped like those of . . .
A Forster's Tern?
A Northern Bobwhite?
A Red-tailed Hawk?
Is its tail like that of . . .
A Barn Swallow?
An Eastern Bluebird?
A Bluejay?
Does it catch insects during short flights like a flycatcher, or during long flights like a swift? Does it glean food from the bark of trees like a nuthatch?
Great Crested Flycatcher
Chimney Swift
White-breasted Nuthatch
Does it cock its tail like a wren, flip its tail like a phoebe, or bob its whole body like a waterthrush?
House Wren
Eastern Phoebe
Louisiana Waterthrush
