Dear $$firstname$$,
Greetings from Birds & Blooms
magazine! We hope you enjoy this BONUS newsletter, which helps you
ask the right questions to reveal the identity of a new feathered
friend. See if you can figure out...
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What
Is That Mystery Bird?
A NEIGHBOR or friend approaches you
and says, "I saw a new bird in my backyard the other day, and
I don't know what it was." You're likely to reply, "What
did it look like?"
"Well...it had some red on its front. And I think it was dark
on the back..."
Such a sketchy description offers too few clues for even an expert
to identify the backyard visitor. Trouble is, when they see a new
bird, many people get so excited they forget to look for important
clues that could lead to the bird's identity.
Next time you spot a new bird, remember to look for the features
that make it unique. Then a positive identification should be fairly
easy. For example, let's say you've just spotted a "mystery
bird". Look closely and make mental notes of several key features.
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Size: How big is the
bird? Is it larger, smaller or the same size as a robin? Or a sparrow?
Or a crow? (The mystery bird is about the same size as a robin.)
Color: What colors are
its feathers? Red? Yellow? Black? Brown? A combination of several
colors? On what parts of the bird are these colors located? On its
back? Breast? Belly? Throat? Wings? Rump? Head? Legs? (Mystery bird
has a bright red breast, white belly and black head and back.) |
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Field Marks: What
striking marks does the bird have? Wing bars? Striped or spotted
breast? Eye lines? Bars on its tail? Spot or crest on its head?
White outer tail feathers? (Mystery bird has white wing bars and
a white rump.)
Shape: Is it shaped
like a duck? Hawk? Woodpecker? Heron? Swallow? Robin? Wren? Is
its bill long and pointed or short and thick? Is its tail long
and thin or short and round? (Mystery bird has a large, thick
bill like a cardinal's--probably for cracking seeds.)
Seek
Other Clues
Remember that other details besides the bird's appearance might
help pinpoint its identity.
Location: Where
is the bird? Is it on the ground? In a tree? On water? In a field?
In a forest? Flying high or low? (Mystery bird is among the leaves
of a tree in southeastern Wisconsin.)
Season: Is it spring,
summer, fall or winter? (Mystery bird is sighted in summer.)
Behavior: What is
the bird doing? Hopping? Walking? Climbing up or down a tree?
Sitting on a branch? Eating? Bathing? Feeding young? Preening?
(Mystery bird is sitting on a branch and singing.)
Sound: Every bird
makes sounds, either songs, alarm calls, tapping on trees with
its bill or beating the air with its wings. If the bird is making
a sound, what kind of sound is it? (Mystery bird has a lovely
melodious song, somewhat like a robin.)
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By the Book
Armed with these details, we can begin paging through a field
guide, which arranges birds in families. (See a list of popular
field guides below.) We know by its size and shape that mystery
bird is not a hawk, duck or woodpecker. It must be a large songbird...perhaps
a thrush or finch.
Once we've found the right family (finch), we look for a bird with
mystery bird's color and field marks. It looks a lot like a grosbeak--the
rose-breasted grosbeak. Reading the description of the rose-breasted
grosbeak, we discover that mystery bird is a male, because the female
is a brown-striped bird.
Sure enough, the range map (a map showing where the bird is usually
found) indicates that the rose-breasted grosbeak spends spring and
summer in southeastern Wisconsin. Mystery solved!
(To
see the mystery bird, click
here.)
Bird
Field Guide Is Helpful Tool
WHEN Roger Tory Peterson published A Field Guide to the Birds
in 1934, he opened the door to a new world of identifying birds.
His guide was the first to describe the unique qualities and specific
field marks of each and every bird in eastern North America. It
also grouped similar species together so direct comparisons could
easily be made.
Since then, many other field guides have followed suit. That's why
a field guide is a helpful companion for bird-watchers who want
to identify unfamiliar backyard birds. Here are some field guides
commonly used in North America:
American Bird Conservancy's Field Guide to All the Birds of North
America, published by HarperCollins.
A Field Guide to the Birds, by Roger Tory Peterson, Houghton Muffin
Co. There are two volumes: Eastern birds and Western birds.
Field Guide to Birds of North America, Second Edition, National Geographic
Society.
Golden Guide to Field Identification: Birds of North America, Golden
Press.
Stokes Field Guide to Birds, Little, Brown and Co. There are two Volumes:
Eastern region and Western region. |
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Birds & Blooms magazine
brings beautiful backyards from across America into your living
room--through vivid, full-color photos. It's like a friendly "chat"
over the back fence with your bird-and flower-loving neighbors.
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2004 Reiman Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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