Ornithology and Birding Skills

Birds are the best-known group of animals on Earth, and birdwatching is one of the most popular outdoor activities in the world. Birds are also excellent indicators of environmental health, and citizen scientists contribute more data on birds than on any other group of animals. Good birding skills are valuable for every wildlife biologist, guide and traveller.

What you will learn

• The basic bird anatomy used in identification
• How to use binoculars and field guides effectively
• The five-step approach to identifying birds
• How to identify birds by sound, and how to record sightings for science

Bird anatomy for identification

Field guides describe birds using standard terms. Learn these and descriptions become much easier to follow:

• Crown (top of the head), supercilium (stripe above the eye, “eyebrow”), eye-ring, lores (between eye and bill), malar stripe (moustache).
• Mantle and back, rump (just above the tail), wing coverts, primaries (outer flight feathers) and secondaries (inner flight feathers), wing bars.
• Throat, breast, belly, flanks and undertail coverts.
• Bill shape: hooked (raptors), conical (seed-eaters), thin and pointed (insect-eaters), long and curved (nectar-feeders and some waders).

Binoculars and field guides

• Binoculars with 8× or 10× magnification and 32–42 mm lenses suit most birding. 8×42 is a popular all-round choice.
• To find a bird quickly, keep your eyes on it and raise the binoculars to your eyes without looking away.
• Use a regional field guide. Illustrated guides show key features side by side; photographic guides show real variation.
• Apps such as Merlin Bird ID (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) can suggest identifications from photos, sound recordings or a few answers about size, colour and behaviour.

Five steps to identifying a bird

1. Size and shape: compare with familiar birds (sparrow, pigeon, crow). Note bill, tail and wing shape. Shape is often more reliable than colour.
2. Behaviour: does it hop or walk, climb trunks, hover, soar, wag its tail, flock?
3. Habitat: forest canopy, grassland, wetland, shoreline, city.
4. Colour pattern and field marks: wing bars, eye stripes, rump colour, tail pattern.
5. Sound: song and calls.

Also consider range and season: field guides and eBird maps show which species are expected where and when. An unusual bird is more likely to be a common species in unusual plumage than a rarity, so check carefully before claiming something rare.

Birding by ear

Many birds, especially in forests, are heard far more often than seen. Songs are usually longer and more complex, used for attracting mates and defending territory, mostly in the breeding season. Calls are shorter and used year-round for contact and alarm. Tips:

• Learn common species’ songs first, so unfamiliar sounds stand out.
• Describe songs in words or patterns (the common cuckoo’s “cuck-oo”, the “teacher-teacher” of an ovenbird).
• Record songs on your phone and compare them with online libraries such as xeno-canto and the Macaulay Library.
• Dawn, when many birds sing (the “dawn chorus”), is the best time to practise.

Bird surveys and citizen science

• eBird: record complete checklists of all species seen and heard, with counts, time and distance; data are used in thousands of scientific studies and in conservation planning.
• Point counts: standing at fixed points for a set time and recording all birds seen and heard.
• Line transects: walking set routes at a steady pace.
• Bird ringing (banding): trained, licensed ringers fit birds with numbered rings to study survival, movement and lifespan.
• Breeding bird atlases and national monitoring schemes, such as the North American Breeding Bird Survey (since 1966) and European schemes run with BirdLife partners.
• Global Big Day: an annual one-day count by tens of thousands of birders worldwide.

Birding ethics

• Keep a respectful distance, especially from nests. If a bird changes its behaviour because of you, you are too close.
• Use playback of calls sparingly or not at all, especially for threatened species and in breeding season; many parks prohibit it.
• Stay on trails and respect private land.
• Be cautious about sharing the exact locations of sensitive species, such as nesting raptors, owls and rare birds targeted by collectors.

Case study: the Bengal florican and citizen data

The Bengal florican, a Critically Endangered bustard, survives in grasslands of Nepal, India and Cambodia. Researchers use counts of displaying males in the breeding season, combined with birders’ records, to track its fortunes. Surveys in Nepal’s grasslands, including Koshi Tappu and Shuklaphanta, have documented steep declines, highlighting the importance of grassland management, such as the timing of grass cutting and burning, for this and other grassland birds.

Try it yourself

Spend 15 minutes at one spot in the early morning. Record every bird you see or hear, with counts, and submit your list to eBird. Try to identify at least one bird by sound alone.

Key terms

• Field marks: distinctive features used for identification.
• Supercilium: a stripe above the eye.
• Primaries and secondaries: outer and inner wing flight feathers.
• Point count: a timed count of birds from a fixed point.
• Ringing (banding): marking birds with numbered rings.

Quick quiz

Further reading

• Sibley, D. A. Sibley Birds (North America); Svensson, L. et al. Collins Bird Guide (Europe); regional guides for Africa and Asia.
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Bird Academy (online courses).