Learning to identify new birds can be a challenge, but as with most things the more you practise the better you’ll get at it. Begin by getting to know the birds that visit your garden, or a nearby park or nature reserve. If you see something that’s unfamiliar, then make a note of the following features. This will help you develop your observational skills and understand what features are common across species and families.
To test yourself, see if you can identify the birds accompanying this article.
It can be hard to accurately determine the size of a bird, particularly those that you don’t know, so make an estimate by comparing it to other species that you recognise that may be alongside it. If this is not possible, try and compare it with species that you are familiar with. For example, is it the size of a blue tit, a blackbird, or an owl?
Birds will often look bigger than they really are in poor light, and it can be difficult to estimate the size of a bird in flight so again compare it with other birds that you see in the air with it.
Farmland buntings which are often seen together, such as the yellowhammer, corn bunting, and cirl bunting, can look alike, particularly from a distance, but they have differences in size.
In many species males and females can be different sizes. Often, the male is larger than the female but in some species such as birds of prey and some shorebirds the position is reversed.
Look at the shape of the bird and decide if it reminds you of any species you are already familiar with. Birds in the same family may be different sizes but they often have similarly shaped bodies.
But don’t just look at the body – pay attention to the bill and the legs as these are great visual clues to help you work out what bird you are looking at.
For example, a large bird with a hooked bill is probably a bird of prey, a small bird with a short bill will probably be a seed-eater such as a finch or sparrow, while a medium-sized bird with a long, thin bill is likely to be a wader or shorebird.
Look at the length, thickness, and colour of the legs and note whether the feet have talons or are webbed.
Plumage details are very important for correct identification so try and note as much detail as possible. Look at the colour of the upperparts (the back and the wings), the underparts (the breast and belly), and the head, the tail, and the bare parts (the bill, and the legs and feet).
Remember the colour of a bird can look very different in flight when the underside of its wings and tail are exposed from when it is perched on the ground.
Look for any prominent patches of bright colour. For example, a blue patch on the wing of a pinkish coloured bird would almost certainly mean your bird is a jay rather than a magpie which is black and white all over, a small bird with a red face and yellow on the wing would be a goldfinch, and a duck with a bright green head and blue and white patch on the wing is probably a mallard drake.
Female birds in species that show sexual dimorphism can be harder to identify as they tend to be drabber with less conspicuous markings. A female mallard, for example, doesn’t show many of the bright colours of the drake except for the blue patch on the wing but this isn’t always obvious when she’s on the ground or in water.
Juveniles and subadults (birds that aren’t fully mature) will often be a different colour from adult birds and the plumage of some species changes throughout the year with many male birds losing their bright colours out of breeding season.
Birds may have patterns all over their body such as barring, stripes, scaling, spots, or mottling, or they may have distinct patterns in specific areas.
Take a note of any obvious markings such as stripes above the eye, streaks on the chest, bars on the wing, or bands on the tail. Again, be aware that different lighting conditions and wet weather can make the bird look different from what you expect and that a bird’s pattern may change throughout the year.
The difference in pattern between similar species may be very subtle. For example, mistle thrushes and song thrushes both have spots on their chests, but they are slightly different shapes.
Learning to identify a bird by its song or call can make identifying it much easier, particularly if you can’t get a good view.
Birds tend to sing in the morning and in the evening but will call all day, and may utter alarm calls at any time, so be aware of what you are listening to.
Think about how the bird sounds. Is it cheerful or sad? Does the song sound relaxed or urgent? Is it melodic or tuneless? Mnemonics and rhymes can be useful for helping to remember different species’ songs and calls.
For some birds, such as the willow warbler and chiffchaff, the song may be the only way to tell them apart.
Look at what the bird is doing and how it is moving.
Does it hop or run? Does it fly directly, or does it circle and swoop up and down in flight? Is it in a tree or a bush, or on the ground? Does it bob its head or flick its tail and wings?
Some birds are solitary by nature, whereas others prefer to spend their time in flocks sometimes with other species so who the bird is with can give you a clue to help with identification.
Different species of ducks when on the water can look very similar but if you wait a while you might see them dabbling (tipping up to forage) or diving under the water in search of food.
Learning the behaviour of different species of birds can often help with identification when visual features have left you stumped.
Although they look similar, the yellowhammer is the smallest of the farmland buntings while the corn bunting is the largest.
The downward curved bill identifies this is as a curlew. The whimbrel is similar but the bill is much shorter.
The black crows – the carrion crow, raven, rook, and chough – look very alike, but the chough is the only one with a red bill and feet.
The spots on the song thrush are better defined and more pointed than on the mistle thrush.
The chiffchaff has a song that sounds like its name. If you can’t hear it, it’s useful to know it has darker legs and feet than the willow warbler.
The wigeon may look similar to the pochard but it’s a dabbling duck whereas the pochard is a diving duck.
