Five Ways to Troubleshoot Your Birding Problems

When your bird guide isn't getting it done, try these hacks and alternatives to make a better ID.

Identifying a bird is like solving a mystery. Every gumshoe birder gathers clues from the subject鈥檚 appearance. But what happens when those clues don鈥檛 materialize, or when they add up to a species that defies logic? With no point of reference, judging size can be tough. Catch a bird in the wrong light and it looks washed out. Even worse are oddballs that turn up with missing feathers or field marks painted on by brushes with nature. To crack those cases, you鈥檒l need to know both the environment and the nuances between species鈥攂ut also be ready to second-guess yourself. Follow the tips our experts gleaned from their own hard-won experience. This is the universe testing your skills. You鈥檒l become a better birder because of it.

Size Can Be Deceiving

In spring and fall, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs are easy to spot along marshes and shorelines across the United States. What鈥檚 not as easy? ID-ing them. Both birds have a white eye ring, checkered backs, white bellies, and, of course, bright-yellow legs. The only obvious difference is their size: The Greater is greater and the Lesser is lesser.

There are quite a few examples of such puzzling pairs. Cooper鈥檚 Hawks and Hairy Woodpeckers both have avian 鈥淢ini-Me鈥檚鈥 (Sharp-shinned Hawks and Downy Woodpeckers, respectively). There are greater and lesser versions of scaup, black-backed gulls, and prairie-chickens. White herons come in a bunch of sizes, too.

Identification can be a snap when two species of differing sizes stand next to each other, but that hardly ever happens because birds are jerks. So then what do you do?

My advice is to pretend like you鈥檙e playing Pac-Man. In the video game, Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man look identical, except that Ms. Pac-Man wears a bow. You鈥檒l need to find that bow鈥攖he feature that distinguishes each pair of lookalike birds.

For the Greater Yellowlegs, it鈥檚 the head- to bill-length ratio, which is larger than that of the Lesser Yellowlegs. (Hey, I didn鈥檛 say it would be a cinch.) The bill length also differs for Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers. Adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls have yellow legs, while adult Great Black-backed Gulls wear shades of pink. Also focus on leg and bill color to separate the white herons.

Once you learn to look for these features, you鈥檒l be able to size up most birds. The yellowlegs, however, might haunt you forever. 鈥擭ick Lund

Tips to Build Your ID IQ

The 约炮视频 Birds of North America app lets you narrow species by size (look under 鈥淓xplore Birds,鈥 then 鈥淎dvanced Search鈥). But when size is distorted, try these other options.

Wing Shape

Choices such as tapered, pointed, swept, and fingered could help lead you to the correct species. A short-winged bird, for example, could be a Northern Bobwhite, a Virginia Rail, or even a Least Bittern.

Locomotion

What is the bird鈥檚 flight pattern like? If it hovers, it may be a hummingbird, a kestrel, or a White-tailed Kite. If it gets in formation, it could be an ibis, a cormorant, or a European Starling. 鈥擯urbita Saha

Lighting Changes Everything

Silhouettes of birds can be diagnostic when you know the species well, but not when you鈥檙e just learning. For a bird鈥檚 every field mark to be exposed, you鈥檒l need perfect lighting. The best times for birding are an hour after dawn and an hour before dusk, when the daylight is at its richest and warmest, and the shadows under leaves and shimmering heat waves are absent. To make the most of every minute, use an app like Sun Surveyor or Helios to track the sun鈥檚 position each day.

If you鈥檙e still having trouble seeing field marks, you may need better optics. Even the low-priced birding models on the market today are far superior to the bins you may have inherited from your grandfather鈥檚 Army days. When testing them, don鈥檛 look at objects in bright sunlight鈥攁im at dark corners or the undersides of tables. The best pairs will have coated glass, which gives you a brighter image no matter how rough the lighting. 鈥擲haron Stiteler

Go-To Bins

For a starter pair, the (above; $269) has great light-gathering ability. The dielectric, phase-correcting coatings on the ($400) offer superior transmission. ($3,249) binoculars are worth every penny when it comes to clarity and brightness. (Disclosure: The writer has a sponsorship with Swarovski.) 鈥掷.厂.

Bottoms Up

The most common profile of dabbling ducks isn鈥檛 one you鈥檒l find in a field guide. Luckily, you can learn to identify them while they鈥檙e feeding鈥攕imply by getting to know their butts.

Northern Pintail

The four-inch tail feathers on the male are key: They鈥檙e longer than those of any other dabbling species.

Mallard

For the telltale sign of a male mallard, find two black curls sticking up like the ends of a well-twirled mustache.

Green-winged Teal

Two gold patches flash beneath the male鈥檚 tail. (They鈥檙e visible when the bird is upright, too.) 鈥摈.厂.

Birds of a Different Feather

Sometimes, even when you see a bird in perfect light, its feathers might not match its expected form. But the occasional curveball is part of what makes birding fun. The only way to prepare is to learn common species and not jump to any conclusions. Remember, even birds can get weird. 

Balding birds. A few missing feathers can utterly change your impression of a bird. On one birding boat trip off the New Jersey coast, a bizarre bird flying low over the waves grabbed my attention. With a small head and stubby tail, it had the entire crew guessing: Was it a dark petrel or an odd shearwater? Could it be a member of the auk family? After circling at a distance, the mystery bird landed on the boat. It was a Mourning Dove that had lost its tail feathers. (Above left: a molting Northern Cardinal.)

Dirty birds. Once in Arizona, a friend phoned to say he鈥檇 found a flock of Harris鈥檚 Sparrows鈥攖he only North American sparrows that have black faces. At the scene I instead found White-crowned Sparrows that had been feeding on fallen olives. Discoloration like this happens a lot. Hummingbirds may end up smeared with pollen. Swans鈥 heads and necks are often tainted orange by minerals. And in one case, a Greater Yellowlegs covered in oil was identified as a Spotted Redshank. (Above middle: a Black-chinned Hummingbird with pollen.) 

Leucistic or albino birds. As an obsessive 10-year-old birder, I learned about two oft-seen conditions that can cause birds to lack their usual pigments. At the time, I鈥檇 found a pure-white bird I was thrilled to ID as a Snow Bunting. Sure, it seemed odd that this Arctic species should be hanging out in Kansas in July, but I couldn鈥檛 imagine what else it could be. After watching it for a couple of days, I crossed Snow Bunting off my life list. Clearly I was looking at a pigment-free House Sparrow. (Above right: a leucistic Eastern Screech-Owl.) 鈥擪enn Kaufman

Contributing writers: Nick/Nicholas Lund, Sharon Stiteler, Purbita Saha, and Kenn Kaufman.