Bird watching is a great low cost hobby that is both serene and a great way to learn to appreciate nature. Of course, you have to figure out how to identify the birds you see.
If you get into birding, you will quickly realize you want to keep a list of the birds you see. In fact, this is a basic pillar of the hobby. The list you create is called a life list. As the years pass, the idea is to add and add to your list. Frankly, it can become a bit addictive. Regardless, you need to know how to identify the birds you see so you can keep your list up to date and make sure it is accurate. There are a number of ways to identify birds and the silhouette method is one.
The silhouette method is all about looking at shapes. You want to avoid focusing on colors or actions take by the bird. Instead, you want to picture the bird as a dark shape surrounded by light. If this is unclear, thing of the head silhouettes you did as a kid. It is the same idea, although you have to picture the silhouette in your mind since the bird in question probably isn’t going to let you do any actual one!
Most species of birds have common characteristics. If you can match the characteristics of the bird to others, you will be able to determine the group it lies within. As you get better at it, you will often be able to nail down the exact identity.
When picturing the silhouette, you need to focus on a couple key things. First and foremost is the body size. Is it large, small or medium? Next, look at the shape. Is there something unique about it, to wit, is it long and thin, stout or pear shaped?
Once you have the basic body characteristics down, it is time to look for a bit more detail. What type of beak are you seeing? Is it long or short? What about the tail? Is it short or long or are there other characteristics? Finally, take a look at the proportions of the body parts. One of the great give aways is a particular body part that is larger or smaller than one would expect with the body shape and size.
Once you have correlated this information, you should have a pretty good idea of what you are looking at. It may sound like a lot at first, but it will eventually become second hand.
Rick Chapo is with NomadJournals.com - makers of bird watching journals.
