Western Meadowlark at Newport, Oregon on 7 March, 2010 by Greg Gillson.
Are you amazed at the skill of some birders in identifying quickly-viewed and distant birds? Whether they know it or not, they are likely using a combination of up to 7 different methods in identifying birds.
Would you like to improve your bird identification skills? Then you will want to use all 7 of these clues that birds give to you.
In fact, you may already be using these methods to a small degree.
In each of the discussions that follow there will be a quiz example of each method. See how many of the quiz birds you can identify. Then practice and hone your skills by concentrating on using each of these different methods on every bird you see.
Next: Color and pattern