Introduction to
Song Birds
Ms. Lacross Ag and Technology I
What is a bird?
– “Warm blooded’ Vertebrate
–
Body temperature is kept more or less at or above its
surroundings
– All birds produce laying eggs which are fertilized
before they are laid.
Birding Basics
– With more than 800 species of birds in the US and Canada it is
easy to confuse birds
– There are several id tips that can help
– Keys to Id:
– Size and Shape
– Color Pattern
– Behavior
– Habitat
– Field Marks
– Songs and Calls
Key 1: Size and Shape
– Often you don’t need to see color to
know what type of bird you have
– Silhouettes quickly tell you a bird’s size,
proportions and posture
Key 1: Size and Shape
– On the photo to the
right identify each of
the bird silhouette
1. Woodpecker, 2. Owl,
3. Birds of prey, 4. Ducks,
5. Geese, 6. Shorebirds
Key 2: Color Patterns
– Focus on overall color pattern instead of matching every
detail to the pictures
– Birds molt and their feathers wear
– Appearance can vary if the bird is
– old or young,
– how well it had been eating last time it molted
– light the bird is sitting in can have a huge effect on the colors
you see
Key 3: Behavior
– Birds don’t just look unique they also have unique ways of acting, moving,
sitting and flying.
– Posture:
– The MOST basic aspect of behavior is posture
–
Posture: How a bird presents its self
– Movement:
– As you see a sitting bird begin to move, you get a new set of clues to which type it
could be.
– Flight Pattern:
– Certain birds have flight patterns that give them away
– Birds or prey have their own distinctive styles
Key 3: Behavior
– Feeding Style
– You don’t only watch birds move but also watch them eat
– Some of obvious ex. The heron
– Flocking
– Some species are born loners
– Others are never found solo
– Some travel in 3’s or 4’s some in 100’s
– Many species get more sociable as summer draws to a close
Key 4: Habitat
– A habitat is a birds home
– Many birds are choosy
– Keeping in mind where you are helps to determine what type of
bird you have
– Using Ebird helps
– The great part of the Ebird system is it generates a bar chart
– This chart gives you a sense of how often a species has been
seen in a region
Key 5: Field Marks
– Field marks: distinctive stripes,
spots, patterns, colors and highlights
that birds have in such abundance
and variety
– Birds develop these patterns for
many reasons
– How do they use them?
– Recognize members of their own
species.
Key 5: Field Marks
– Eyebrow Stripe: line over the eye
– Eyeline: line through the eye
– Whisker Mark: aka mustache
– Throat Patch
– Color of upper and lower beak
– Color of Lore: area between the base of beak
and the eye
– Eyering: ring of color around the eye
– Crest: Presence or absence
– Eye color: The color of the eye itself
Key 5: Field Marks
– Birds wings are another place to determine a birds identity
– Examples:
– Wingbars: stripes across the fold
– Wing Patches: blocks of color on the wings
– Wing Lining: the feathers covering the underlining of the wing
Songs of Birds
Ms. Lacross
Ag and Technology I
Black – Capped Chickadee
American Crow
Ruby- Throated
Hummingbird
Mourning Dove
American Robin
Northern Cardinal
Blue Jay
American Goldfinch
Red-Winged Blackbird
Barn Swallow
White Crowned Sparrow
Eastern Phoebe
Killdeer
Canada Goose
Grackle
Pigeon
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Ovenbird
Tufted Titmouse
Osprey