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Re: Tips for beginning birders



Hi,

There are a few more notes concerning field guides. I do not know field guide do
bird identification with no mistakes. There are always smaller or bigger "errors"
in paintings or in description (see Sibley where most birds have legs far too
thin and "boneless" or claws in Longspurs - look more like rather "shortspurs").
The best way is to have a few field guides, including good book with photographs.
Every artist paints birds via his own filter so the same species usually look a
bit different in different field guides (compare almost any bird in Sibley's
Guide to Birds and Mullarney et al. Birds of Europe). So, observer's own field
experience is the most important to look at the field guide (illustrations and
descriptions) with some criticism
A far as shape in  my opinion the silhouette is one of the most important factor
in bird identification. Many (most?) of birds could be identified just by
silhouette and behavior.

Mike

Joshua Stuart Rose wrote:

> 2. Field guides often convince novice birders that all birds can be
> identified by plumage/coloration. This is not true. Pay attention to other
> characteristics of a bird besides the color of its feathers: shape,
> behavior, habitat, color of non-feathered parts, flight style, and so on.
> As Len just pointed out, posture is also frequently useful.
>

************************************************
Michal Skakuj  Ph.D.
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Durham, NC 27707
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