HOW TO IDENTIFY BIRDS (BIRDING 101) Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds Start out by talking generally about birding - what a wonderful and enjoyable hobby it is, that with a little time and effort bird watching skills can soon be learned, etc. To get a feel for the level of knowledge of your audience, ask (with a show of hands): “How many of you think you can identify 5 different birds?,” “10 species of birds?” “15 or more?” Then say, “I bet you can identify more birds than you think,” and move on to the next slides. NOTE: This is an introductory slide who on how to identify birds. It is geared towards beginning birders. The show was prepared by Lisa Sorenson and Michele Kading (this is our first digitized version; it is still a work in progress!). Feel free to add or delete slides depending on the amount of time you have available and the level of knowledge of your audience. The presentation can be given fairly quickly as an introduction to bird watching. It is especially useful before a birding field trip. Reference material: Chapter 2 - “A Guide to Bird Watching” in Handbook of Bird Biology published by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in association with Princeton University Press.

Ask “Who knows what this bird is?” (Almost everyone will know.) Point out how they knew this bird just by the shape of it’s bill, wings and body.

Ask again “Who knows what this bird is Ask again “Who knows what this bird is?” (People will guess hummingbird) This is more challenging (Kingfisher) but point out distinctive shape of the bill, crest on the head, and posture (perched).

Point to a few other easy birds (e. g Point to a few other easy birds (e.g., duck - 2, woodpecker - 3, owl - 8) and see if anyone can identify them. Birds in the same taxonomic group (e.g.,sea gulls, herons, hawks, woodpeckers, warblers) typically have the same body shape and proportions, although they may vary in size. So, as you can see, silhouette alone offers many clues to a bird’s identity, and may allow a birder to assign the bird to the correct group.

Almost everyone will guess this one (Tweety Bird). Again point out how they recognized the bird by it’s distinctive shape (big head, small wings), the 3 “feathers” on top of the head, etc.

Birds can also be identified by their size and color. Anyone with young children knows Big Bird - a large, orange chicken-like bird with orange legs. The size, color and body shape are clues to the bird’s identity.

Woody Woodpecker Woody is identifiable by his unique call and other features such as the shape of his bill and eyes, crest on top of his head, etc.)

Road Runner can be identified by his characteristic call (beep beep), long legs, long neck and the habitat in which he is found. If you are in the desert, you would expect to see a Road Runner. Also, Road Runner does not fly, but runs very fast.

Sometimes you can figure out a bird’s identity (Tweety Bird) by its association with other species, in this case, Sylvestor.

Basic Body Parts of a Bird When learning to identify birds, one needs to first be able to clearly describe the colors and markings on the different parts of the bird. This is a diagram showing basic body parts of a bird. Starting out with a simple diagram like this is useful especially with young children.

Body Parts of a Bird (more advanced) As you become more advanced, it is important to learn to describe parts of a bird in more detail, such as the eyebrow stripe, eyeline, lores, eye ring and cheek patch on the head, parts of the wing such as the primaries (main flight feathers), secondary feathers, and scapulars, upper and undertail coverts, etc. (point out some of the different parts with a pointer).

Wing feathers from Below and Above - point out primaries, secondaries, scapulars, wing coverts and axillaries (“wing pits”). Note that the secondaries on the wings of ducks are called the speculum, these feathers are brightly colored in ducks. The color of the speculum or wing patch can be seen easily in flight and is a good aid to duck identification.

Points to Look for When Identifying Birds When learning to identify birds, you should first decide what size it is. It’s very helpful to compare the new bird with a bird that you’re familiar with, for example a Bananquit or a Crow, so that you can say “a little smaller than a crow” or “larger than a bananaquit.”

Points to Look for When Identifying Birds Take a careful look at the head and beak or bill. Is the bill small and fine like a warbler’s, stout and short like a seed-cracking sparrow, short and hooked for tearing flesh like a kestrel, long and straight for probing like a snipe, flattened for dabbling in muddy water like a shoveler, or long and dagger-shaped for killing fish (heron)?

Points to Look for When Identifying Birds How does it fly? Does it undulate (dip up and down) like a woodpecker? Or does it fly in a straight line like a starling? Noting how the bird flies (e.g., soaring, gliding, hovering) provides additional clues to what species it is.

Points to Look for When Identifying Birds Look for “field marks” on the bird - distinctive patches of color, especially on the face, neck rump and wings. Does the bird have any bars, stripes, or patches on any of these places? Is the breast spotted, streaked or plain? Look also for a crest on the head and note the color of the legs and bill- these are often valuable identification points.

Points to Look for When Identifying Birds Note also the shape of the bird’s wings. Are they rounded like an owl, long and pointed like a kestrel, long and swept back like a swift or deeply slotted on the wing tips like the crow?

Points to Look for When Identifying Birds Pay attention to how long the bird’s legs are. This reflects its way of life and the sort of habitat in which is lives.

Points to Look for When Identifying Birds The tail can be long, forked, notched, square or rounded.

Points to Look for When Identifying Birds Identifying patterns on the wings or tail often show when the bird is flying.

Points to Look for When Identifying Birds Does the bird cock its tail like a wren or stand upright like an owl? Or does it perch with a more horizontal stance? Does it climb up and down tree trunks? Watch how the bird feeds - warblers are quick, energetic birds that constantly dart from place to place as they pick tiny insects from leaves and branches. In contrast, vireos often perch for several minutes in one place, waiting until they see a large insect, then they dash forward to snatch up their prey.

A good pair of binoculars and field guide are the basic equipment for a birder. There are numerous excellent field guides available, including field guides specific to particular countries in the Caribbean. We recommend “A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies” by Raffaele et al. This book focuses specifically on birds that occur in the West Indies; you won’t have to sort through numerous other North American species that don’t occur in the Caribbean. In addition, there’s a handy locality checklist in the back of the hardcover edition that states how common (common, uncommon, rare, vagrant) the bird is within each Caribbean country - very helpful in deciding how likely it is that one will see a particular bird. Explain that the beginning birder should spend time familiarizing oneself with the field guide and studying the different groups of birds. This will help you to find birds in your field guide and become a better birder more quickly. Note: you should have a hard cover and paperback copy of the book to show. Explain in more detail how the book is organized. Before your field trip, after you have passed out the binoculars, be sure to give a clear explanation on how to use them (how to adjust and calibrate them to your individual eyes, how to focus them, fold back eye cups if you wear glasses, etc.; also give tips on how to “find” a bird with your binoculars once you have spotted it with your naked eyes (keep looking at the bird and bring the binoculars up to your eyes), etc.

Observe the bird as much as possible Final birding tips: Observe the bird as much as possible while it is in view. In other words, do not glance at it through your binoculars and then begin flipping through your field guide trying to find the bird. By the time you realize you need more information to identify the bird, it may well be gone. You are much better off if you observe the bird with binoculars for as long as you can, making mental notes of all its features; its size, color, all the field marks you can see, behavior, posture, etc. It may be helpful to sketch the bird. Go birding as often as possible with experienced persons and your skills will improve rapidly.

Keep a Field Journal Keep a Field Journal A good naturalist records his or her observations. A small spiral notebook or loose leaf notebook works well. The Wetlands Field Trip notebook also has a page for keeping a field record of birds seen. Taking notes on date, location, weather conditions and detailed information on the birds seen will improve your powers of observation and memory and help you remember each birding trip accurately. Be sure to use a pencil or waterproof ink when taking notes. You should describe in detail the field marks of any unidentified birds and later look through your field guides. With good notes, there is a very good chance you will be able to identify the bird later. Good field notes can also be invaluable to science as they provide a historical record of species occuring in different locations over time. Keeping a personal bird list or “life list” (record of every species they have ever seen with the date and place of the first sighting) can also be challenging and rewarding.

Have fun! Finally, most of all, have fun! Introduce your family and friends to birding. Form or join a local birding group or club. Have fun!