Thousands of thousands of bird make their way through the various climates in this world so how do you tell which is which? Here's everything you need to know about bird identification.
Food type and beak
One great way to master bird identification is to learn about bird beaks. You can't usually see a bird's beak from a far away, but if you're serious enough to get into bird identification, chances are you probably have a decent pair of binoculars. Classifying birds by their beaks will it help you narrow down your bird choices, but it won’t necessarily pin point the exact genus and species of the bird.
So let's go through some general bird beak types that can help with bird identification. Birds with short stubby beaks usually eat seeds. Birds with long beaks usually use their beaks for poking around and digging up hidden insects while birds with strong long, thin beaks, are usually woodpeckers that look for their insects under pieces of bark. Long, thick flat beaks like a duck's bill, are used to dig into soft soil and root for small creatures and foliage that it can eat.
Look at the markings
All birds have different markings, that much is clear. Some birds are brightly colored while others are rather dull. Though plumage has a lot to do with birds appealing to each other, it also has to do with habitat. A bird that lives in a suburb of Nebraska will not be showing off bright orange colors because it would be a perfect target for a predator. Instead, it will be brown and kind of dull looking so it can fit right into its surroundings. Some bird identification books even list the birds according to color, which makes them much easier to identify.
Check out their habitat
When investigating bird identification, check out the bird's environment. This will tell you a lot about the bird. For example, if you're living in the Rocky Mountains, you should be pretty well aware that you're not going to run into a toucan.
Other bird identification advice
If you need to know the specific species of a bird you want to identify, you can always look in a bird book. There are many bird books out there. Some even come with audio so you can also hear the birds that you are looking for. Almost every state has a bird identification book that's specific to that state. These little booklets are usually laminated with spiral bindings so they're easy to take on nature walks, giving you the option of exercising and being outside while honing your bird identification skills.
